The 14th Beijing Humboldt Forum took place at the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) in Beijing from Sept. 19 to 20, bringing together experts, scholars, officials and business representatives from China and abroad to discuss a range of pressing issues, including the green economy, cultural heritage, health management and artificial intelligence Plus (AI+).

In his address at the opening ceremony, UIBE Party Secretary Huang Baoyin said the themes of this year's forum continued the academic tradition of the Beijing Humboldt Forum while responding to major challenges facing contemporary development.

Over the past 75 years, UIBE has developed alongside China's opening-up drive and economic growth, cultivating professionals with a global vision, professional expertise and a keen sense of social responsibility, Huang said.

Looking ahead, the university will continue to deepen its international engagement and leverage its strengths in international business and education to make greater contributions to China's development and its engagement with the world, He added.

Former Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel delivered prerecorded remarks at the opening ceremony. Other guest speakers included Zhu Min, former deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and former deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, Cao Diefeng, deputy director of the China Center for International People-to-People Exchange (CCIPE) under the Ministry of Education, Ralf Wehrspohn, director of the German Institute for Technologies and Economics of Lithium, Liang Yangchun, president of Management World magazine, Andreas Löschel, a member of the German National Academy of Science and Technology, Robert Marten, a senior official at the World Health Organization's Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, Manuel Holtmann, German director of the Sino-German Center for Sustainable Development at the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), and Siddharth Chatterjee, former United Nations resident coordinator in China. They also extended warm congratulations to UIBE on its 75th anniversary.

During the forum's annual report release session, Christian Tietje, former rector of Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, delivered a report titled "Transnational (Global) Value Chains - GVCs and Investment", exploring the evolution of global value chains and international investment.

UIBE President Zhao Zhongxiu delivered a keynote speech on AI's role in restructuring China's supply chains, arguing that AI is far more than an isolated shock to traditional supply chains and economic growth, instead, it represents a "systemic competition".

Zhao noted that AI's impact hinges not on any single model or technology, but on the capacity to transform AI into organizational capabilities across tasks, enterprises, supply chains and the broader macroeconomy.

He called on China to pursue an open, systemic approach to AI development that prioritizes people's well-being, while embracing AI-driven transformation to support socio-economic development.

Eleven parallel forums ran alongside the main session, covering topics including zero-carbon development, health fiscal policies, global networking and sustainability, the building of Asia-Pacific community, new drivers for an open world economy, and the translation and international communication of Confucian and Taoist classics.

Hosted by UIBE, the two-day forum attracted hundreds of experts, scholars and representatives from the business and political communities from China, Germany, Austria, the United States, Argentina, Canada, Madagascar, and Tonga.