China stands ready to work with other countries to strengthen scientific and technological innovation and cooperation and promote international exchanges that are more open and inclusive for mutual benefit and shared growth, President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday.

Xi made the remark in a congratulatory message delivered to the first conference of the International Science, Technology and Innovation Forum of Boao Forum for Asia, which opened on Tuesday in the Macao Special Administrative Region.

Xi said the world today is witnessing a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, which has brought about profound changes in human development and offered a new pathway for addressing and responding to problems and challenges concerning global development.

Noting that the world is facing various challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic, Xi said science and technology should benefit all of humanity. China is willing to intensify cooperation with other nations on technological innovation to make contributions to global economic recovery and safeguarding people's health.

Xi also voiced hope that under the theme of "Innovation Empowers Sustainable Development", the forum, co-hosted by the Boao Forum for Asia and the Macao SAR government, will pool wisdom, enhance consensus and promote cooperation in order to make scientific and technological innovation better benefit the peoples of all countries.

In a video speech, Vice-Premier Han Zheng highlighted the importance of international cooperation on science and technology.

"International cooperation, exchanges as well as competition on science and technology have to a large extent promoted the world's technological advancement, which eventually benefits human society," he said.

China always adheres to open innovation, firmly upholding multilateralism and opposing protectionism and unilateralism, he said.

Innovation and technology are the key for the global economy to pick up quickly, said participants on Tuesday.

In an online speech broadcast live, Ban Ki-moon, chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia and former United Nations secretary-general, said innovation provides a simple solution for the daunting and complex challenges faced by humanity, including the current COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed over 1 million lives and taken a toll on the social life of many.

Ban took note of the paradigm shift from the West to the East which sees innovation and technology taking off in Asia.

Asia needs to double down on its efforts in innovation and technology in order to be a world leader, he said.

Former governor of the People's Bank of China Zhou Xiaochuan, who is also vice-chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia, agreed that Asia, being the most vibrant region economically, is progressing at a fast pace in this field.

The World Intellectual Property Organization's latest Global Innovation Index, released in September, showed Singapore in eighth place while South Korea, for the first time, made it to the top 10 in the ranking, and China took 14th place among the 131 economies. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region also climbed two places to 11th this year.

In the newly released proposals for China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), innovation-driven development is placed in a designated chapter as the first and the foremost task of the 12 important goals it lists.

Bolstering innovation and technology is high on the agenda of many countries as it is becoming clearer that innovation is a key factor in beating the virus and empowering coronavirus-stricken economies globally, Zhou said.

Looking forward, Zhou placed emphasis on international collaboration for driving innovation and technological development.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a good case in point in terms of how much international cooperation drives the world forward, said Zhou. From the basic research of the virus to the clinical trials and vaccine manufacturing, it takes global teamwork, he said.

China has drawn benefits from innovation and technology in successfully containing the pandemic, he added.

The forum will run until Wednesday, giving insights on innovation and technology through 12 thematic sessions spanning green and low-carbon technology, innovation for life and biomedical technology.