A senior Chinese official Wednesday called on engineering communities worldwide to work together so as to meet new challenges in order to benefit mankind in the new century.
Song Jian, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, made the remark at a welcoming banquet of the International Conference of Engineering and Technological Sciences 2000 (ICETS2000) in Beijing.
He said that China will actively participate in international cooperation and learn advanced engineering sciences, technology and management skills from foreign countries to facilitate its development and to embrace a peaceful and prosperous world in the new century.
Over 2,000 guests from the international engineering community representing more than 30 countries participated in ICETS2000, which began this morning.
During the conference, the participants will look back upon the brilliant engineering achievements of the 20th century and look forward to the even greater challenges of the 21st century.
The vice-chairman said that with over 10 million engineers and scientists, the Chinese engineering community has been carrying out activities in important areas of engineering, making significant contributions to the sustained economic and social development of China, he added.
At present, China is still a developing country in an early stage of industrialization and modernization, with a huge population and an underdeveloped economy.
In order to succeed, China must accelerate engineering science and technology and promote technological innovation as a top priority to provide the driving force for economic and social development, Song said.
He said that in the process of modernization, China will closely follow the international trends set in engineering science and technology, try its best to develop IT industries and make full use of information technology to upgrade all sectors of traditional industry.
(People's Daily 10/12/2000)
