Qi Ye, director of the Institute of Public Policy at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said in his speech that the new round of innovation should be human- and nature-centric.

Thus, Qi considered inclusive and sustainable development as the direction of the new innovation, which will"navigate innovation to provide public goods and services"as well as"pay off our debts to the nature".

The professor also called on all the nations to understand the world as a community of shared future, and jointly innovate to address the common challenges, such as climate change, resources shortage and cyber security.

"The notion of putting certain country first is a daydream of the old timers," he said. "those who resort their resources containing the innovators, not contributing to innovation will soon prove themselves obsolete and irrelevant."

Li Jiwei, a young scientist-turned-businessman and founder and chief executive of Shannon.AI, said AI is an important driving force for a new scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, and has become a new engine for international economic development, supporting structural reforms on the supply side and building a high-quality modern economic system.

Countering those who say AI will replace humans, Li said it is simply a tool that can help make people more creative, make their lives easier and the world better.

"For the long-term development of the intelligent era, AI and people should work together to build a community of shared future for humanity to benefit mankind."

David Gosset, the founder of the China-Europe Forum, said the Western world needs to change its mindset that China is a copycat and recognize that the country is now at the forefront of innovation in many areas.

"The progress that China has made in technological development has no equivalent in the world. I think it is time for the world to realize that China is not an imitator. When you look at China's history, China has always been a strong force for innovation."

Gosset, also the founder of the New Silk Road Initiative, said China can be a model for the world in terms of the planning and construction of smart cities, looking to Shenzhen and Guangzhou in Guangdong province as well as Xiongan New Area, southwest of Beijing, as exemplars.

With regard to the challenges China and the world face in an increasingly digitized future, Gosset said governments must find the balance between technology and wisdom and ensure that "human dignity is at the center of what we do".

Vision China was established in January 2018. By inviting well-known political, business and academic speakers to tell China's story from global perspectives and discuss major global topics, it aims to become a broad platform to ensure China's voice is better heard as well as to build a new channel for responding to global concerns on China-related issues through profound debate.