The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) launched its second advisory committee on internationalization strategy in Beijing on March 28.

Guo Huadong, a CAS member, was appointed director of the committee, and Gao Fu and Zhang Suojiang, also CAS members, were named deputy directors.

The committee is one of the key mechanisms for the academy’s internationalization initiatives, especially in terms of assessment, instruction and guidance. Members are from international cooperation administrations at relevant ministries and departments, and the key CAS fields of education and academy-level international cooperation platforms.

At the committee’s first plenary session held on the same day, CAS Vice-President Zhang Jie stressed the following five points.

Above all, the academy should enhance the study of international trends and explore cooperation mechanisms suitable for China’s innovation-driven development.

Second, CAS’s 13^th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) and international cooperation initiatives for 2017 should focus on the academy’s major strategies, and more efforts are needed to make researchers and research institutions fully understand the key initiatives in international cooperation.

Third, the committee should focus on the academy’s overall development needs, and set annual themes for fulfilling CAS’s internationalization goals.

Fourth, cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative should become an important part of the effort to serve China’s overall diplomatic strategy and to establish globalized innovation networks. CAS should make plans in advance.

Last, communication mechanisms at CAS and its affiliated research institutions should be further improved to motivate all relevant personnel.

Source: International Cooperation Bureau, CAS