The 2020 World Intelligent Connected Vehicles (WICV) Conference kicked off at New China International Exhibition Center in Shunyi District on November 11. Cai Qi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, announced the inauguration of the Conference. Xiao Yaqing, Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Huai Jinpeng, Secretary of the Leading Party Members' Group, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Secretary of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), and Chen Jining, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and Mayor of Beijing, attended the opening ceremony.

In his speech, Chen Jining said intelligent connected vehicle has become the main direction of the transformation and upgrade of global auto industry and a key area of scientific and technological innovation in all countries. Beijing attaches great importance to the development of this industry. It is the first city in the country to carry out open road testing of autonomous vehicles – a 700km testing road has been opened with more than two million kilometers of safe driving mileage. In September this year, the world's first connected, cloud-controlled, high-level autonomous driving demonstration area will be completed at Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area. Applying Internet of Vehicles (IoV) and other technologies of high reliability and low time delay, the demonstration area strives to slash cost, realize mass testing at an early date, and accelerate technological iteration and innovation. It integrates several areas such as auto-making, electronics, communication, AI and big data, drives the clustered development of enterprises on the upstream and downstream of the industry chain, and fosters an innovative development environment featuring the government's lead in setting up platforms, in-depth cooperation among enterprises, multiple investors, and integration of multiple fields. An industrial ecology aiming for high-level autonomous driving above L4 is in the making. Beijing looks forward to closer cooperation with scientists, entrepreneurs, and investors from around the world, so as to jointly promote the development of intelligent connected vehicle industry and enjoy the new intelligent life in the future.

Xiao Yaqing, Huai Jinpeng, Liu Zhao, Vice Minister of Public Security, Liu Xiaoming, Vice Minister of Transport, and Zhao Houlin, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union gave speeches at the opening ceremony. After the ceremony, leaders and guests visited the Intelligent Connected Vehicles Exhibition and autonomous driving demonstration. The WICV Conference is a large-scale event jointly hosted by Beijing municipal government, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Transport, and China Association for Science and Technology as a world-class communication platform for the intelligent connected vehicle industry. Themed on "New Era of Intelligence, New Life of Connected Vehicles", this year's conference invited Chinese and foreign guests to discuss such topics as intelligent connectivity strategy, innovation, and cooperation.

Xin Guobin, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Zhong Zhihua, Vice President of Chinese Academy of Engineering, Yin Yong and Zhang Jiaming, Municipal leaders, and Jin Wei, Secretary-General of the municipal government were present at the opening ceremony.

(Reporters: Wang Hao, Fan Yu, Zhang Shiqi, Tian Xueyin, Li Qi, and Chen Jingyan)