The 2021 Greater Bay Area Biosecurity Forum was successfully heldonOctober 25 in Shenzhen.Co-hosted by the Shenzhen Bay Laboratory (SZBL) and the Microbiology and Biosecurity Professional Committee of the Chinese Society for Microbiology (CSM), the forum centered itstheme around the key areas and hotspots of national biosecurityfaced by China at present andyieldeda variety of intellectual outcomes on biosecurity system building and biosecurity strategy development at both national and regional levels.

The forum has received online and offline participation by more than 80 officials, experts and scholars from governments, universities and research institutes, including the National Health Commission, the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission, the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health (CAS), the State Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Science, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Tsinghua University, The Third People’s Hospital of Shenzhen, and Shenzhen Customs.

The forum began with addresses by Qiu Xuan, Member of the Party Leadership Group of the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission, and Hu Xiaojun, Party Chief of the SZBL Party Committee. Qiu Xuan said that we should gain an in-depth understanding of the important speech delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping and enhance our biosecurity practices. Qiu also emphasized that all scientific research should abide by relevant laws and regulations so as to secure a sound mechanism for our work on biosafety and ethical management and supervision. InHu Xiaojun’s speech, heintroduced the progress SZBL had made in epidemic containment and the capacity-building of public health research. Hehighlighted the importance of guarding against biosecurityrisksand said that SZBL is standing ready to contribute its wisdom and work with relevant parties in advancing the biosecurity agenda for theGreater Bay Area.

The forum invited prestigious speakers from the China CDC, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Military Sciences and related institutionsto give more than 10 keynote reports, featuring supervision systems for biosafety laboratory, national capacity building of biosecurity,traceability of virus, prevention and control of infectious diseases, countermeasures for epidemics, clinical treatment, vaccine R&D and etc. These were also enriched by discussions of the representatives from government and health authorities, leading universities and scientific institutes, and local hospitals.

As a part of the forum, the Microbiology and Biosecurity Professional Committee of the CSM elected itsnew committee. SZBL Senior PIs including Liu Wenjun and Cheng Gong were among the newly elected committee members.