From 5 to 7 December, the Tengchong Scientists Forum 2025 was held in Tengchong, Yunnan Province. The forum was organised around the overarching theme of “Technology Leading the Future” and the sub-theme of “Science·AI Changing the World”. It featured a main plenary forum, ten parallel sub-forums and a series of related activities.
A total of 133 Chinese and international fellows from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering attended the event. They were joined by 77 presidents of universities from China and abroad, more than 400 experts and scholars, and over 600 entrepreneurs and financiers. Participants gathered in Tengchong for exchanges and discussions, with a shared focus on advancing scientific and technological innovation.
Forum Chair, Academician GU Binglin, and Forum Co-Chair, Academician RAO Zihe, presented the Tengchong Science Award to Academician PAN Jianwei, the laureate of the 2025 award. The forum also announced the recipients of the inaugural Tengchong Outstanding Young Scientists Award. In addition, ten cases of forum outcomes transformation were released, along with ten major academic achievements and ten major science and technology cooperation initiatives. The report Tech Predictions and Future Visions 2049 was also published.
Academician ZHANG Zemin, President of Chongqing Medical University, was invited to attend the forum. He delivered presentations and participated in discussions at both the University Presidents’ Forum and the Life Sciences and Health Sub-forum.
On the afternoon of 6 December, the University Presidents’ Forum was convened as part of the Tengchong Scientists Forum 2025. The forum was jointly hosted by Peking University and the Yunnan Provincial Department of Education, and organised by Yunnan University. More than 30 university leaders took part in the discussions.
The participants focused on three key topics: more personalised talent development models, more innovative integration of industry and education, and broader international cooperation. The discussions encouraged the exchange of innovative ideas and the sharing of practical experience. They also helped build consensus on future cooperation, contributing collective wisdom to the high-quality development of higher education in the AI era.
Drawing on CQMU’s Sino-foreign cooperative education pathway, characterised by “Introduction, Integration and Demonstration”, ZHANG Zemin outlined the university’s approach to build a joint Educational Institute with the University of Leicester. He explained how CQMU supports the building Chongqing into a hub of opening-up in inland China through medical education. He also highlighted its efforts to promote large-scale development through high-standard openness.
At the Life Sciences and Health Sub-forum, ZHANG Zemin delivered a keynote address entitled From Understanding Single Cells to the Future of Precision Medicine. In his speech, he outlined cutting-edge progress in the application of AI to drug discovery. He also discussed its use in clinical trial design and personalised treatment.
He further shared strategic perspectives on advancing the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation with the Healthy China initiative. These efforts, he noted, aim to continuously improve public health outcomes and enhance the capacity of clinical medical services.
（Translated by AI）
