Denmark chosen as Country of Honor at top global event

Denmark has been appointed as the Country of Honor for the 2017 Pujiang Innovation Forum, a singular recognition from a global event that followed the appointments of the United Kingdom in 2016 and Israel in 2015.

The small but vibrant Scandinavian nation is renowned internationally as a center of technological excellence and a world leader in such cutting-edge sectors as design, green technologies and the manufacture of turbines for offshore wind farms.

“Denmark is honored to be appointed Country of Honor for the 10th Pujiang Forum,” said Helle Meinertz, deputy head of missions at the Danish Embassy in Beijing. Higher Education and Science Soeren Pind, Vice Mayor of Beijing Yin Hejun and Deputy Governor of Anhui province Deng Xiangyang will deliver welcome speeches to global guests.

Keynote speakers at the opening ceremony will be Minster of Science and Technology Wan Gang and Denmark’s Pind.

Huang Wei, deputy minister of science and technology, will host the plenary session in the morning of Sept 23.

Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Carlsberg and the Carlsberg Foundation Flemming Besenbacher, President of Tsinghua University Qiu Yong and Professor of Physics, James Franck Institute, University of Chicago Peter Littlewood will deliver speeches during the plenary session on Sept 23. Littlewood is former director of the Argonne National Laboratory.

The event includes one plenary session and two special subforums — the Country of Honor Forum and the Belt and Road Forum, as well as 12 sub-forums that will be presented in the form of themed speeches, guest dialogues and announcements on research achievements.

The Belt and Road Forum, scheduled on Sept 24, will invite officials, professionals, and business representatives from relevant countries to discuss how to deepen technological innovation and partnerships.

The 12 sub-forums will cover a wide range of topics including the future science, regional development, financing technology and smart manufacturing.

The Pujiang Innovation Forum, first held in Shanghai in 2008, will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year.

“It has attracted nearly 1,000 government officials, professionals and business leaders to deliver speeches on hot topics in innovation fields over the past ten years,” said Zhang Bingqing, deputy director of

PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY The annual Pujiang Innovation Forum is one of the most influential and high-profile forums in China.

“I would like to thank the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Municipal Government of Shanghai for the invitation,” he added. Denmark’s Minister of Higher Education and Science, Soeren Pind, is leading a delegation to the forum and is a...