Tianjin has welcomed five new overseas science and technology non-governmental organizations (NGOs) into its growing cluster for international scientific cooperation. The announcement was made during the 2025 Overseas Chinese Science and Technology Associations Representative Office Cluster (Tianjin) Exchange Event, held from Nov. 5-7 at the Tianjin Home of Science and Technology Workers under the theme "Pooling Wisdom for a Shared Future."

The event aimed to strengthen regular dialogue between domestic and international science and technology associations, explore new models of institutional openness and inject fresh global momentum into Tianjin's high-quality development and high-level opening up.

As China's first cluster for representative offices of overseas Chinese science and technology associations, the initiative has established an efficient mechanism led by the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), with interdepartmental coordination and localized implementation. Since launching in December 2024, the cluster has introduced a series of policies — including tax incentives and free trade accounts — to support its development. To date, 10 overseas science and technology associations have set up representative offices in Tianjin, hosting nine international exchange activities and facilitating more than 30 substantive cooperation projects involving scientific research, industrial collaboration and high-level talent exchange.

A certificate presentation ceremony is held at the event in Tianjin. [Photo/tjbh.com]

At the event, the Administrative Office of Overseas NGOs of Tianjin Public Security Bureau, together with CAST and the Tianjin Association for Science and Technology, issued registration certificates to the five newly approved NGOs: Connected Universal Experiences Labs (Colombia), the Chinese Association for Science and Business (U.S.), the France-China Incubation Alliance (France), the International Center for Humanitarian Cooperation and Development (Russia) and the iBeeHub Foundation (U.S.). These organizations are focused on science, education and cultural exchange, serving as important bridges for promoting people-to-people cooperation in science and technology and advancing global talent mobility.

A roundtable discussion on strengthening representative offices within the cluster followed the certificate ceremony. Leaders from the Associated Centre of Eurasian for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Belgium), Ivy Entrepreneurship Alliance (U.S.), Sino-European Federation of Life Sciences (Switzerland), Central and Eastern Europe—China Science and Technology Exchange Association (Hungary), and Connected Universal Experiences Labs (Colombia) shared details on their operational progress, best practices and recommendations for developing Tianjin into a key hub for international scientific engagement.

The event brought together 16 representatives from overseas Chinese sci-tech organizations in the United States, Russia, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Hungary, Colombia and Japan, as well as 15 domestic experts. Participants held in-depth discussions on future cooperation and joint initiatives.

Representatives of the overseas NGOs stated that they will continue to expand international people-to-people exchanges in the fields of science and culture, leverage global innovation networks, and contribute to building a community with a shared future for humanity through strengthened scientific collaboration.