Dear CIESC members and all friends,

With the coming of spring, the earth is taking on a fresh look and everything is showing new momentum. As we bid farewell to the extraordinary 2020 and usher in a promising 2021, I would like to, on behalf of the Council of the Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China (CIESC), extend sincere greetings and best wishes to all colleagues in the petroleum and chemical industry, as well as our partners and friends who have all along supported the development of CIESC.

The year 2020 was both extraordinary and challenging. Guided by the Xi Jinping thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, we deeply aware that our era is featured by a new development stage, new development philosophy and new development paradigm. We need to work to see that science and technology development must target the global science frontiers, serve the main economic battlefield, strive to fulfill the significant needs of the country, and benefit people's lives and health.

Centering on critical issues and core technologies in the chemical industry, CIESC pooled strength from all our members, strived for a leapfrog development in science and technology, delivered closer alignment between technology and economy, and created synergy through joint efforts of enterprises, universities, and research institutes. We surmounted difficulties and shouldered our responsibilities to provide strong support and contribute to COVID-19 response as well as economic and social development. Taking this opportunity, I’d like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the people in the chemical industry.

During the past year, CIESC remained committed to its aspiration and kept forging ahead. We called on all our members to join in the nationwide COVID-19 prevention and control campaign, and gave full play to their advantages in quick response, material supplies, as well as R&D. CIESC played its due part in the national fight against the virus, which spoke volumes about the chemical industry’s resolve to navigate this testing time.

During the past year, CIESC focused on its responsibilities and beefed up its function of support. To serve the overall development of the country, CIESC gave full play to organization members’ respective strength and the collective wisdom of the individual members. We organized more than 100 academic events, including "CIESC Science and Technology Innovation Conference" and "Process Intensification Conference", effectively enhancing our academic capacity in steering the chemical science and technology advancement.

We also organized "Hou Debang Chemical Science and Technology Award" and "CIESC Science and Technology Award". With a well-designed incentive system in place, CIESC has become a strong driver of frontier technology advancement and at the same time fully motivated scientific brains. CIESC took the initiative in building a high-level think tank of chemical experts, carried out "Smart Action" for targeted services, and promoted "Innovation China" initiative in all areas.

CIESC pushed hard for the science and technology advancement, and moved faster to build up advantages in supporting R&D. We actively turn science and technology innovation into productivity, and helped to move the chemical industry up to the medium and high end of the global value chain, thus better served and spurred high quality social and economic development.

During the past year, CIESC acted in line with the national strategy that “China upholds the central role of innovation in its modernization drive and identifies self-reliance in science and technology as the strategic support to China's national development”.

We produced popular science booklets like Chemical Industry in the Fight against COVID-19 that won wide applause. Hou Debang’s Lecture Hall, CIESC’s online lecture series named after a renowned Chinese chemist, inherited and carried forward the scientist spirits. We also formulated the CIESC Code of Ethics, which serves the common interests of the academic community and helps to foster a healthy and clean academic environment.

During the past year, we took initiative to integrate into the global innovation network, and boosted innovation through international cooperation on science and technology. We seized the historic opportunity arising with the new development paradigm and elevated our international exchange and cooperation to a new high.
 

Faced with the sudden outbreak of COVID-19, CIESC shared updates on China’s fight against the epidemic in an open, transparent and responsible manner with 7 international organizations including the World Chemical Engineering Council, which was highly recognized by the international community.

In 2020, we were admitted into the Engineering Capability Building Alliance of CAST (China Association for Science and Technology), and started to prepare for the International Mutual Recognition of chemical engineering qualifications, in an effort to make our due contribution in establishing a new order and new pattern in the international chemical and energy industry.

We deepened global partnerships, combined “bringing in” with “going global”, and continued to promote cooperation among international science and technology organizations along the “Belt and Road”, which marked a step forward in building an international chemical community of partnership and shared interests.

During the past year, under the leadership of CAST and the Council of CIESC, we achieved continuous improvements in mass organization, academic leadership, strategic support, cultural communication, and international influence. In 2020, CIESC won a number of honors, including several annual awards bestowed by CAST that recognized our excellence in COVID-19 response, science and technology award system, as well as popular-science efforts. Over the last year, our individual members increased by more than 50% reaching 30,000, and organization members grew by 26, representing a bigger family with a stronger influence.

In the long journey against strong wind, we set out anew with arduous tasks. As the beginning year of the 14^th Five Year Plan, 2021 is of special significance in China’s modernization drive. At the historic crossroad of the “Two Centenary Goals,” the new map of building a modern socialist country in all aspects is unfolding. In this year, we will improve our capabilities to keep up with the new development stage, follow the new development philosophy, and foster new development paradigm.

CIESC will carry on to lead our members to forge ahead in driving development with innovation, developing an enabling system for innovation as a priority, and fully implementing our national deployment on innovation, so as to make new contributions.

As we embrace the year of the ox, I would like to, on behalf of the CIESC Council, extend warmest New Year greetings to all of you. I wish health and happiness to all our members and friends. And I wish continued success and prosperity to our industry and our nation.

Dai Houliang
President of the Council of the CIESC
Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering