2025 Zhongguancun Forum to open in late March, highlighting cutting-edge technologies

The 2025 Zhongguancun Forum (ZGC Forum) is set to open on March 27 in Beijing, shining a spotlight on state-of-the-art technologies including AI large models, embodied artificial intelligence and 6G, a senior government official announced at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday.

Founded in 2007, the annual forum is a state-level platform designed for global exchanges and cooperation in the field of scientific and technological innovation.

"The 2025 ZGC Forum Annual Conference will take place in Beijing from March 27 to 31. Established in 2007 with the permanent theme of 'Innovation and Development,' the ZGC Forum has seen 15 editions of it successfully held to date, featuring over 1,000 parallel forums and sub-level activities. It has drawn hundreds of thousands of attendees and visitors, and its brand influence continues to grow, becoming a significant platform for showcasing China's sci-tech advancements," said Lin Xin, vice minister of science and technology.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has emphasized the importance of the ZGC Forum on multiple occasions, delivering congratulatory messages to the annual event three times, according to Lin.

"Under the yearly theme of 'New Quality Productive Forces and Global Science and Technology Cooperation,' this year's edition of the ZGC Forum will comprise a total of 128 events across five major sections -- forums and conferences, technology transactions, achievements releases, frontier competitions, and sub-level activities. Over 1,000 speakers from more than 100 countries and regions will gather at the event to discuss how sic-tech innovation can foster new quality productive forces, offering fresh ideas and insights for global innovation-driven growth," said the vice minister.

The 2025 ZGC Forum will put emphasis on technological frontiers and achievements sharing and commercialization.

"By organizing multiple professional forums and major achievement releases in cutting-edge fields such as AI large models, embodied artificial intelligence, quantum technology, biomedicine, 6G, and brain-computer interfaces, the 2025 edition of the ZGC Forum aims to explore the latest trends in science and technology as well as industries. Events such as technology transaction conferences, frontier technology competitions, and major scientific-technological achievements releases will promote industrial application of major sci-tech achievements and accelerate the development of new quality productive forces," Lin said.

In addition, talent exchange will be highlighted at the upcoming forum. Dedicated sessions will be set up to provide opportunities for scientists, entrepreneurs and innovators to exchange ideas and collaborate.

The forum is also committed to open cooperation. It will foster inter-governmental dialogue on sci-tech collaboration while inviting international organizations, scientists, entrepreneurs and investors from around the world to share their expertise and wisdom.

2025 Zhongguancun Forum to open in late March, highlighting cutting-edge technologies

2025 Zhongguancun Forum to open in late March, highlighting cutting-edge technologies

Artificial intelligence and digital technologies have been increasingly used in China's autumn grain procurement, improving grain inspection efficiency and helping farmers reduce costs.

At a smart grain facility in Gu'an, Hebei Province, part of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei grain industry cluster, a new AI-based analyzer has been used to assess grain quality. Equipped with high-definition industrial cameras, the system captures multi-angle images of each corn kernel and uses AI algorithms trained on billions of images to identify grain grades within about a minute.

The inspection technology is part of a broader digital system being deployed across China's grain storage network. Data from different stages of the procurement process, including inspection, weighing and storage, are transmitted in real time to a centralized management platform operated by China Grain Reserves Group, also known as Sinograin.

The platform allows operators to monitor and manage multiple grain depots simultaneously, improving operational efficiency and oversight.

To support farmers during the harvest season, mobile inspection vehicles have also been deployed in major grain-producing regions. The vehicles conduct on-site quality testing and provide services closer to farms.

"During this year's autumn grain procurement period, we deployed six of these testing vehicles nationwide. While conducting grain quality surveys, they also provide farmers with zero-distance, one-stop services, helping reduce farmers' costs of selling their grain," said Shao Boyu, inspector at Sinograin Heilongjiang Quality Inspection Center.

AI promotes cost-efficiency for Chinese farmers in annual nationwide grain procurement