Academics

On December 6, the 2025 New Materials Industry Innovation and Development Conference, together with the Peking University Distinguished Engineer Jinpu Tour, was successfully held in Jinpu New Area, Dalian, under the theme “Intelligence-Driven Innovation for the 15th Five-Year Plan.” More than 200 representatives from government agencies, enterprises, universities, and research institutes gathered to discuss development trends in the new materials field, share advances in cutting-edge technologies, and offer insights to accelerate China’s progress toward an independent and controllable new materials industrial chain, as well as to promote innovation-driven development of the new materials industry in Northeast China.

Attendees included Academician Jin Zhang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Xuefeng Leng, Member of the Standing Committee of the Dalian Municipal Party Committee and Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Jinpu New Area; Ruqiang Zou, Dean of the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Peking University; Ming Li, Party Secretary of the School; Guangsong Liu, Director of the Professional Degree Education Office of the Graduate School of Peking University and Vice Dean of the School of Distinguished Engineers; Xibin Song, Director of the New Materials Industry Professional Committee of the China Association of Productivity Promotion Centers; Xiangsheng Fu, Vice President of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation; and Bingnan Ye, Economist and Chief Macro Strategist at CMB International Capital Corporation. The opening ceremony was chaired by Dongsheng Lü, Deputy Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Administrative Committee of Jinpu New Area.

Figure 1. Group Photo of Conference Participants

Figure 2. Special Coverage by Dalian Daily

2025 New Materials Industry Innovation and Development Conference and Peking University Distinguished Engineer Jinpu Tour

Xuefeng Leng extended a warm welcome to the experts and entrepreneurs attending the 2025 New Materials Industry Innovation and Development Conference and the Peking University Distinguished Engineer Jinpu Tour. In his remarks, he noted that Jinpu New Area is the first national-level new area in Northeast China and the tenth nationwide, and is also home to China’s first national-level economic and technological development zone. The area currently comprises three major functional zones: the Dalian Area of the China (Liaoning) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the Jinshitan National Tourist Resort, and the Puwan Economic Zone. During the first three quarters of this year, the regional economy maintained strong momentum, attracting a number of outstanding enterprises such as West Pacific Petrochemical, Overseas Huasheng, China Catalyst, and Oriental Carbon Valley. He expressed sincere appreciation to the experts and entrepreneurs for sharing insights and offering valuable advice on the development of the new materials industry in Jinpu New Area and Dalian, and warmly invited them to work together with Jinpu New Area to create a promising future for the new materials sector.

In his address, Ming Li stated that the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Peking University, upholds the philosophy of “genuine materials and real-world impact with global vision.” The School is committed to cultivating interdisciplinary leaders with a strong sense of national responsibility, strategic vision, engineering expertise, and industrial insight. By exploring a new engineering education framework that integrates fundamental research, frontier materials, and future industries, the School aims to inject sustained momentum into innovation-driven development. Taking this conference as an opportunity, the School looks forward to strengthening collaboration between universities and local governments, as well as between academia and industry, to promote deep integration across government, industry, academia, research, and application. Through these efforts, Peking University seeks to contribute to China’s pursuit of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and to new breakthroughs in the comprehensive revitalization of Northeast China.

Figure 3. Keynote Addresses by Xuefeng Leng and Ming Li

During the conference, Academician Jin Zhang delivered a keynote speech titled “Artificial Intelligence Transforming Research Paradigms in Materials Science.” He presented his team’s active exploration of applying artificial intelligence to new materials research, as well as practical pathways toward end-to-end materials R&D. In addition, ten experts and representatives from academia and industry, including Bingnan Ye, Xibin Song, and Xiangsheng Fu, gave thematic presentations. Their talks focused on pathways for the industrial application of scientific research and solutions to key technological challenges. The conference covered a wide range of frontier areas and application scenarios, including advanced carbon materials, new energy materials, optoelectronic display materials, materials for life and health, novel structural materials, and AI for Science (AI4S). These discussions were also closely integrated with broader topics such as the 15th Five-Year Plan, macroeconomic trends, financial investment, and enterprises’ global expansion.

Figure 4. Conference Scene

The conference was jointly organized by the School of Distinguished Engineers, Peking University; the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Peking University; the School of Advanced Materials, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School; the Zhengzhou Institute of Advanced Materials, Peking University; and the Administrative Committee of Jinpu New Area, Dalian, and was hosted by the Administrative Committee of the Puwan Economic Zone, Dalian. Concurrent events included the “Night of Excellence” University–Industry Networking Session and site visits to the new materials industry in Jinpu New Area. Representatives of Peking University doctoral students in frontier engineering, as well as full-time master’s and doctoral students in engineering, participated in these exchange activities.