The 2026 China-CEEC Conference on Innovation Cooperation concluded in Nanjing on September 11. The event, co-hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and the Ministry of Economy of Slovakia, was held successively in Ningbo and Nanjing under the theme “a decade of innovation, building the future together”. The closing ceremony drew over 300 participants, including government officials, heads of universities and research institutions, experts, scholars, and young sci-tech professionals from China and the CEECs, as well as diplomatic envoys stationed in China.

The closing ceremony featured the signing of six cooperation projects between Jiangsu and the CEECs, as well as presentations by three CEEC representatives on current progress and future priorities. Fourteen representatives from China and the CEECs then watered the Tree of Future—a symbol of the enduring vitality and momentum of China-CEEC innovation cooperation

Over the past decade, Jiangsu has deepened its cooperation with the CEECs, as demonstrated by the opening of the China-CEEC Technology Transfer Center, its partnership with 133 CEEC institutions, the hosting of industry-university-research matchmaking events for five consecutive years, and the delivery of a number of joint R&D projects, stated an official from Jiangsu Provincial Department of Science and Technology. In the future, Jiangsu will make greater efforts to facilitate the two-way flow of technology, talent, and capital to foster greater synergy, with a special focus on areas of mutual interest such as AI and green and low-carbon development.

Vladimír Šimoňák, State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy of Slovakia, regarded this conference as a key platform for knowledge and experience sharing and for cooperation among the sci-tech, industrial, and business communities. Such exchanges built up confidence and fostered commitment, laying a solid foundation for closer cooperation in the future.

Since its inaugural session in Nanjing in 2016, the conference has grown into a flagship event of the highest level and largest scale in the sci-tech field between China and the CEECs.