Mankind is faced with complex challenges in the world today.It is with this keen understanding that Chinese President XI Jinping made the proactive judgment that “Our world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century.”A significant variable in such major changes is the Fourth Industrial Revolution，which，different from other transformations，will greatly influence the human development process thanks to its scale，speed，breadth，depth and all-round and systematic role.In terms of its size，the fourth industrial revolution will involve the whole society，each family and each individual；in terms of its speed，it will exhibit an exponential，instead of linear，rate of growth；in terms of its breadth and depth，it will bring unprecedented changes to human beings，not only changes in our way of life，work and production，but even the human beings themselves；it will affect the human survival and development systematically，improve or even reshape the environment humans rely on for existence.The Fourth Industrial Revolution is characterized by a surge of emerging and breakthrough technologies overwhelming areas，including artificial intelligence，robot，Internet of Things，3D printing，nanotechnology，biotechnology，materials science and quantum computation.Although many technologies are still in their initial stage，they will be in mutual promotion and continuous fusion due to the cross-border and cross-industry integration.“2025” will be the key tipping point for technological development of the Fourth Industrial Revolution，along with which come the changes in the original patterns of governance，commerce，allocation and consumption.All these constitute great opportunities and challenges for human development.

It is self-explanatory that China with one fifth of the world’s population will play its due role.As one of the four great ancient civilizations，China has a 5000-year history endowed with a huge sedimentary accretion of wisdom and knowledge.And it is making active preparations for the wave of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.Firstly，it is making the people aware of the features and all-dimensional influence of technological revolution；secondly，it is constituting the framework and entry of technological revolution；thirdly，it is building the platform for cooperation aimed at comprehensive resource integration.The “13th Five-year Plan” and “Made in China 2025” proposed by China indicate that the bugle for new advance has been blown in a new era.It is necessary to emphasize that China’s active preparations and responses will not only be done within the Chinese territory，but also lead the world to advance under the banner of peace and development through a new globalization as well as the Belt and Road Initiative（BRI）and its practices.

The Research and Development International（RDI）was founded at the point when the Fourth Industrial Revolution burgeoned and the BRI was initiated.Since its foundation，RDI has been upholding the principles of demand orientation，project orientation and result orientation.On the one hand，it goes deep into the relationship between the new globalization，the BRI and the Industrial Revolution and offers proposals for key issues and possible solutions；on the other hand，it organizes relevant industry clusters，enterprise clusters and technology cluster to lay a solid foundation for the great changes and serve the global development by finding，fostering and recommending enterprises and technologies.The 319 enterprises on the RDI platform now cover 15 categories with state-owned ones taking up 40%，private and mixed ownership ones 60%.In 2018，we selected 20 innovative enterprises on the RDI platform，some being powerful state-owned ones that have greatly contributed to policy coordination，facilities connectivity，unimpeded trade，financial integration and people-to-people bond proposed in the BRI，some being private ones filled with spirit of innovation，some being excellent middle-aged entrepreneur teams fostered by the country and some being outstanding startup teams composed of the 80s and 90s generations.All of them represent the hope of China.

The emerging Fourth Industrial Revolution has created significant opportunities for China，allowing it to compete with the developed at the same starting line.The BRI enables China to further participate in and lead the globalization.Let’s work together and make new and greater contributions to the realization of the new globalization and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Weiguang WANG

Chairman of the 13th CPPCC Ethnic &

Religious Committee

Council Chairman of BRI International

Think Tank of Chinese Academy of

Social Sciences

Former President of Chinese Academy

of Social Sciences

March 2019

蔡昉，中国社会科学院原副院长、党组成员，研究员，中国社会科学院学部委员、学部主席团秘书长，第十三届全国人民代表大会常务委员会委员，第十三届全国人民代表大会农业与农村委员会副主任委员，中国人民银行货币政策委员会委员，中国社会科学院国家高端智库理事会副理事长、首席专家，“十四五”国家发展规划专家委员会委员，全国宣传文化系统“四个一批”人才。主要研究领域为劳动经济学、人口经济学、经济改革与经济增长、收入分配和贫困、“三农”问题的理论和政策等。

著有《读懂中国经济》《从人口红利到改革红利》《四十不惑∶中国改革开放发展经验分享》《中国经济发展的世界意义》等，主编《中国改革开放：实践历程与理论探索》《中国智慧》等，发表学术论文和理论文章数百篇。获中国出版政府图书奖、孙冶方经济科学奖、中华人口奖等。

Cai Fang, Ph.D. in Economics, graduated from Renmin University of China and the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He is a member of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress, Deputy Director of the Agriculture and Rural Committee, Vice President and Faculty Member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He has won the China Soft Science Award, the Zhang Peigang Development Economics Award and the Sun Yefang Economic Science Award in recent years. He published the monograph China Economy, Avoiding the Middle Income Trap, Beyond the Demographic Dividend (receiving the China Publishing Government Award in 2013), Understand the Chinese Economy (2017 "Good Book in China") etc., and has edited Green Paper on Population and Labor: China Population and Labor Issues Report etc.