The Fourth China Innovation Economy Forum was successfully held online on November 27, 2022. The forum is organized by the Editorial Board of Economic Research and co-organized by the China Center for State-Owned Economic Research at Jilin University, the School of Economics at Liaoning University, the School of Economics at Jilin University, and Jilin University’s Finance and Economics. The theme of the forum was “Innovation in Economic Theory and Practice for Self-Reliance and Strength in Science and Technology”. The forum was attended by more than 200 experts and scholars from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, Zhongshan University, Xiamen University, Jilin University, and Liaoning University, along with a number of media representatives.

During the opening ceremony, speeches were given in succession by Cai Lidong (Standing Committee Member of the Party Committee and Vice President of Jilin University), Yu Miaojie (Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Liaoning University), and Ni Hongfu (Deputy Director of the Board of Editors at Economic Research). The opening ceremony was hosted by Professor Zhao Xinyu, who is Deputy Director of the China State-Owned Economic Research Center at Jilin University.  

Cai Lidong pointed out that the profound changes in the modern world bring both new challenges and new opportunities. He emphasized that we should seize this historical opportunity by following the trend of the current times and guiding with innovation the new era of the world economy. An innovative China needs innovation in its economics as well as an innovative economic theory that is oriented toward independent innovation and technological self-reliance and strength, which is also the dutybound mission and responsibility of our existing generation of scholars.  

Next, Yu Miaojie indicated that innovation is the soul of a nation’s progress and the inexhaustible driving force of a country’s flourishment and growth. The 20th Party Congress proposed to accelerate the implementation of innovation-driven development strategies in order to achieve a high level of scientific and technological self-independence and self-reliance. Innovation has grown to be the strongest voice of our times, and scientific and technological self-independence and self-reliance have grown to be the key to China’s path toward modernization. Yu expressed that this forum will certainly promote the development of China’s innovative economy theory and the construction of an autonomous innovation-knowledge system, contributing Chinese wisdom to both the independent-innovation path with Chinese characteristics as well as China’s path to modernization. Yu ended his remarks by putting forward some scientific and practical policy recommendations. 

Following Yu, Ni Hongfu pointed out that the most essential feature of building a new development pattern is to achieve a high level of self-independence and self-reliance, stressing that innovation is a major theoretical and practical issue for the nation and one of the research fields that can best serve the national strategy. The success of innovation, along with the realization of self-independence and self-reliance, is a highly crucial factor for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Therefore, Economic Research attaches great importance to the China Innovation Economic Forum.

The topic speech stage of the forum was presided over by Professor Li Zheng (Dean of the School of Economics of Liaoning University and Assistant to the President of Jilin University of Finance and Economics), Professor Song Donglin (Director of the China State-Owned Economy Research Center, Jilin University), Professor An Tongliang (Dean of Commercial College, Nanjing University), Professor Zhang Jie (School of Finance and Economics, Renmin University of China), Professor Long Xiaoning (Research Institute of Intellectual Property, Xiamen University), and Professor Chen Jin (Director of Technology Innovation Research Center, Tsinghua University). They all gave excellent speeches on the topic of “High-Quality Development and Innovation of State-owned Enterprises” respectively. Professor Chen Jin, Director of Center for Technological Innovation at Tsinghua University, gave lectures revolving around the themes of “High Quality Development and Innovation of State-Owned Enterprises”, “Analysis of China’s Innovation Problems Based on the Perspective of the Whole Industry Chain”, “Technology Measurement of the ‘Bottleneck’ and the Catch-up of the Entire Industry Chain, Based on a Dual Network Perspective”, “Talent Mobility and Enterprise Innovation”, and “People-Centered Innovation Economy”. Thereafter, Professor Li Zheng gave the concluding speech of this stage of the forum.

At the branch meeting location of the forum, the hosts, reviewers, and paper presenters enthusiastically shared and exchanged thoughts on six topics: “Urban Innovation”, “State-owned Enterprise Innovation”, “Green Transformation and Innovation”, “Enterprise Innovation Decision-Making”, “Digitalization and Innovation”, and “Government Behavior and Innovation”. Experts and scholars discussed the role of state-owned enterprises in innovation-driven development, the key links and elements to achieve a high level of science and technology with self-independence and self-reliance, and the construction of an innovation-economy theory with Chinese characteristics for science and technology with self-independence and self-reliance.

At the forum’s closing ceremony, Xie Qian, Deputy Director of Board of Editors at Economic Research, made a concluding speech. Xie spoke highly of the success of the forum and the rich results achieved, and expressed his heartfelt thanks to the organizers and the participants, as well as the great importance that the Board of Editors of Economic Research attaches to the China Innovation Economy Forum. He pointed out that this forum had received more than 160 contribution papers, and after several rounds of expert reviewing, 36 papers were finally selected, with some of these outstanding papers going on to directly enter the review process of Economic Research. Finally, Professor Wu Huaqing, Assistant President of Hefei University of Technology, delivered a welcome speech on behalf of the organizers of the Fifth China Innovation Economy Forum.  

During the forum, organizations including the School of Economics at Liaoning University became the new Council Members of China Innovation Economy Forum.