The 2007 Annual Conference of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) was convened in Wuhan from 8th -14th September 2007. Centering on the theme of "Energy Saving and Environmental Protection for A Harmonious Development", more than 6,000 science workers of different disciplines from across China attended the conference for academic exchanges and popular science activities.

At the opening ceremony of the conference, Mr. Han Qide, Vice President of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress cum President of China Association for Science and Technology, indicated that at present the factor of resources and environment has become a protruding problem constraining the economic and social development of China, and that the development of science and technology is the fundamental way of pushing forward the industrial restructuring and breaking through the bottleneck of resources and environment. He told the participants that the fact that the theme "Energy Saving and Environmental Protection for A Harmonious Development" had been chosen for this year's CAST Annual Conference was for the purpose of organizing scientists into the joint explorations of effective ways to promote social harmony and to build an energy-saving and environmentally-friendly society.

Mr. Lu Yongxiang, Vice President of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress cum President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) also spoke at the conference. He said China had entered a new era of scientific development.  The Chinese economy had witnessed rapid growth for 29 consecutive years, but it had been achieved at the heavy price of resources and ecological environment, and such a development mode is hardly sustainable. As such, we must enhance our capability of indigenous innovation and restructure our industries in order to change the method of economic growth and realize the goal of resources saving and harmonious development.

In his address at the conference, Mr. Zhou Guangzhao, honorary president of CAST, held that in order for China to realize sustainable development and become a self-reliant country in the international community, we must master as well as participate in the discovery of the latest knowledge of science and technology, and, starting from the national conditions of China, give scientific answers to the key questions confronting our economy and society, develop corresponding theories and technologies, and assist the government in working out scientific strategies. He called this the historical mission of the Chinese science community.

In his remarks, Mr. Wan Gang, Minister of Science and Technology, expressed that we must work to promote the public awareness and capability of energy saving and pollutant emission reduction, tap their potential and initiative in this regard, spread nationwide the application of advanced and suitable energy saving and pollutant emission reduction technologies and products, change the unreasonable model of consumption, promote a frugal, scientific and civilized way of living, and create a social atmosphere of conserving resources, reducing pollution and protecting the environment.

Mr. Chen Zhu, who had just assumed the post of Minister of Public Health, observed that adhering to the guiding principle of relying on science education in the work of public health, highlighting the leading, trouble-shooting and fundamental role of health science and technology in medical health reforms, enhancing the health service capabilities and improving the health service quality, all these combined to form the important bases and supports of adapting to the change of the medical mode and pushing forward health reforms; they also constituted a strong guarantee for materializing the scheme of healthy China. 

A parallel session of international academic exchanges with the theme of "Environmental Safety and Human Health" was especially set up during this year's annual conference and in which over 100 domestic and overseas scholars were invited to participate, with English being the official language of the session. With the set up of the 14th parallel session - the parallel session of "Preventative Tactics of Juvenile Addictive Behaviors" - by the China Psychological Health Society, the organizational form of academic salon was successfully applied to this year's annual conference. Participants of this session did not need to submit any academic papers in advance, rather, they simply had to compare notes and brainstorm by centering on the theme of the salon.

As an important convention of the Chinese science community held on annual basis, the Annual Conference of China Association for Science and Technology has been held successively for eight times since its initiation in 1999. Thanks to years of development, the annual conference has become an important platform for exchanges and interactions among scientists, the public, government and enterprises, as well as among scientists themselves.