On November 18th, the 2023 (3rd) International Conference on Non-Ferrous Materials was held in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The conference was hosted by the Nonferrous Metals Society of China and organized by Beijing University of Technology (BJUT). The conference aimed to implement the "Innovation China" action plan, which seeks to accelerate China's progress towards self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology, and was focused on addressing the challenges faced by China's non-ferrous metals industry, and supporting the local non-ferrous industry in achieving high-quality development.
Leaders attended the conference included Liao Pinhu, the Vice Chairman of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and Jia Mingxing, the President of the Nonferrous Metals Society of China. Nie Zuoren, the President of BJUT, and Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, chaired the conference and delivered a speech.
In his speech, Nie Zuoren emphasized the important role of non-ferrous metals as a foundation for economic growth and national defense. He highlighted their crucial role in the development of high-tech advanced manufacturing. He also stressed that in the face of increasingly severe resource and environmental constraints, and in the context of the carbon peak and carbon neutrality strategy, it is important to combine aspects of digitization, such as intelligent control, cloud computing, and big data, with "greening" efforts such as the substitution of raw materials, the reshaping of sources of energy, process innovation, and recycling, such synergy being crucial for the high-quality and green development of the non-ferrous metal industry.The conference also invited many experts, including Ding Wenjiang, Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; Zou Zhigang, Professor at Nanjing University, and Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences as well as the World Academy of Sciences; Lu Jian, the Dean of the College of Engineering at the City University of Hong Kong, and Academician of the National Academy of Technologies of France; Sun Lixian, Professor at Guilin University of Electronic Science and Technology and Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and of the European Academy of Science; and Yang Huaming, Professor at Central South University and Foreign Academician of the Russian Academy of Engineering. All these attendees delivered invited keynote speeches. Their reports showcased the latest scientific and technological advances in the field of non-ferrous materials, and provided valuable academic information for the scientists and technologists present, inspiring innovative developmental thinking at this Guangxi conference.
On the same day, to promote the construction of Nanning as a pilot city for "Innovation China", Nanning City and the Nonferrous Metals Society of China, jointly held the "2023 Nanning Innovation-Driven Demonstration City Industrial High-Quality Development Symposium". At this event, Nie Zuoren, along with experts in the field, engaged in in-depth exchanges and offered strategic advice for the high-quality advancement of Nanning's non-ferrous metals industry.
The conference was themed "Cooperation in Innovative Development Fosters Self-Reliance and Self-Improvement in Science and Technology". As well as the main venue there were 23 sub-venues, and together these attracted around 1,000 attendees in person, and nearly 10,000 online live stream attendees.
