The conference was held in Fuzhou on December 13, co-sponsored by the Geographical Society of China (GSC) and FNU, and undertaken by the School of Geographic Sciences of FNU and the Geographical Society of Fujian Province. Fu Bojie, member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and vice president of the International Geographical Union (IGU), Chen Fahu, member of CAS, president of the GSC, and director of the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research of CAS, Chen Jun, member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), and professor of the National Geomatics Center of China (NGCC) of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Piao Shilong, member of CAS and Boya Chair Professor of Peking University, as well as over 2,300 experts and scholars from more than 300 universities and scientific research institutions attended the event, including CAS, Peking University, Nanjing University, Wuhan University, Xiamen University and Sichuan University. With the theme of Challenges of the Times, Theoretical Innovation and Social Practice, the conference, conducted both offline and online, consisted of the opening ceremony, invited speeches and parallel-session speeches. Over 160,000 people from nearly 20 countries and regions watched the grand opening ceremony and invited speeches online.
The opening ceremony was presided over by Chen Qinghua, vice president of FNU. FNU President Wang Changping, GSC President Chen Fahu, and IGU President Michael Meadows delivered a speech respectively. Chen Fahu said that the academic community will under the strategic guidance of Four Orientations study the geoscientific issues in coordinating both domestic and international situations and fostering a new pattern of development, summarize the latest achievements in geographical theories, methods and technological applications, and set the objectives of targeting the global sci-tech frontiers, and serving global sustainable development. Michael Meadows, on behalf of the IGU, expressed congratulations on the convening of the conference. He said that the current climate change, biodiversity and global pandemic crises have all pointed to the need for a profound and supportive scientific consensus on the man-nature relationship to ensure a sustainable future for mankind.
Fu Bojie, Chen Fahu, Chen Jun, Piao Shilong, academicians of CAS, Xiong Juhua, director of the First Division of Earth Sciences of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Yang Yusheng, vice president of FNU, Fang Chuanglin of the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research of CAS, Bao Jigang of Sun Yat-sen University, Daniel Sui of Virginia Tech (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University), Maria Paradiso of University of Naples Federico II, He Shenjing of the University of Hong Kong, and Yin Jie of East China Normal University made invited speeches respectively. They summarized and exchanged the latest research results in geographical theories, methods and technological applications, and explored new development paths of Chinese geography in the new era targeting the global sci-tech frontiers, serving the main economic battlefields, striving to fulfil the significant needs of our country and benefiting people’s lives and health to foster a community of man and nature and global sustainable development.
The conference held 48 online parallel sessions, where participating scholars conducted in-depth discussions on such issues as disciplinary frontiers and theoretical innovations, rural revitalization and economy and society, dual carbon goals of achieving peak carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, and ecological civilization construction, and made suggestions for the construction of ecological civilization and beautiful China.
(Translated by Lv Xin/ Reviewed by Xie Xiujuan)