Top sci-tech association to hold annual congress

BEIJING - The China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) announced Friday it will hold its annual national congress next month.

About 2,200 delegates for sci-tech workers, including some 100 academicians, will attend the congress that is to be held in northern Chinese city of Shijiazhuang from September 8 to 10, CAST said in a statement.

The congress will mainly focus on innovation in the field of science and technology as well as economic restructuring, it said.

According to the statement, a series of events will also be arranged during the congress, including public lectures, academic exchanges, seminars on specific topics and symposiums between officials and academicians.

Shen Aimin, a CAST official, said the congress will organize experts and academicians to conduct targeted surveys among local enterprises, universities and rural areas in order to provide policies and technical services for local governments.

The CAST's annual national congress was initiated in 1999 in a bid to boost the intersection of the economy and science and technology via academic exchanges.