The second World Science and Technology Development Forum (WSTDF) will take place Nov. 8 - 9 in Beijing, it was announced at a press conference in Beijing on Friday.

The event has a theme of "Trust • Cooperation • Development" to promote innovation, openness and inclusiveness, and mutual trust and learning in scientific and technological development.

This is needed to further promote integration of technological development with economic, social, cultural and ecological progress, and to encourage greater efforts to deliver the sustainable development goals set by the United Nations and advance the building of a community with a shared future for all humanity.

Sponsored by the China Association for Science and Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, with support from such international organizations as the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), the meeting will focus on a wide range of topics of common concern to the international scientific community.

These will include "The Scientific and Technological Revolution and Human Civilization Evolution," "Regional Innovation and Policy Environment for Innovation," "The Digital Economy and Inclusive Growth" and "Science Ethics and Science Culture."

Over 200 distinguished figures from the science, education and business communities will take part, including more than 30 academicians, renowned experts, university presidents and technology business leaders from 16 countries, as well as a number of international organizations like WFEO and the International Telecommunication Union.

Bai Chunli, president of CAS, Nobel laureate Paul M. Romer, former chief economist at the World Bank, and Robin Li, founder and CEO of Baidu, will be among those invited to deliver give keynote speeches.

The event will also highlight five sub-forums focusing on the digital economy, innovation of small and medium-sized technology businesses, open science and cooperation in open source innovation, a wider role for female scientists, and technological services and trade respectively.

In addition, the 2020 list of the 10 scientific challenges for sustainable development of humanity will be unveiled, together with an index measuring the international influence of science journals, and two innovative technology platforms of Chinese tech companies Alibaba and JD.