Greater Bay Area Science Forum kicks off in Guangzhou

The opening ceremony of the 2023 Greater Bay Area Science Forum was held in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province, on Sunday.

Themed "Bring together wisdom, Bring together the world," the forum features 15 sub-forums, with focus on scientific and technological innovation, artificial intelligence, nanoscience, high-energy physics, biomedicines and marine science.

Initiated by the Alliance of International Science Organizations and hosted by the Guangdong provincial government, the event will run through May 23 and has attracted nearly 100 academicians and leading experts from China and beyond.

According to the patent index regarding the Greater Bay Area, which was released during the forum, the area has seen a surge in patent applications, with dominance in overseas invention patents licensed nationwide.

Between 2017 and 2022, overseas invention patents in Greater Bay Area accounted for more than a quarter of the country's total overseas invention patents licensed, said the report.

During the same period, the number of invention patent applications by enterprises in the Greater Bay Area accounted for 73.44 percent of the area's total patent applications, the report added.

Covering Hong Kong, Macao and nine cities in the Pearl River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is one of China's most open and dynamic regions, and also the fastest growing and most dynamic bay area in the world.

Last year, the combined GDP of the 11 cities in the Greater Bay Area surpassed 13 trillion yuan ($1.85 trillion), according to the National Development and Reform Commission.