CHONGQING, Nov. 6 -- The first Belt and Road Ministerial Meeting on Science, Technology, and Innovation was held Monday in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

Science ministers or their representatives from 24 participating countries of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) took part in the meeting.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the BRI. Over the years, it has become the most popular international public good and global cooperation platform.

Yin Hejun, Chinese Minister of Science and Technology, said over the years, China has worked with partners from other countries to consolidate inter-governmental cooperation in science and technology and continuously expand exchanges in the scientific community, among other achievements.

"China will always uphold the concept of openness, inclusiveness, mutual benefit, and sharing in international scientific and technological cooperation and promote the high-quality development of the Silk Road in the field of innovation," Yin said.

Yin made five proposals to deepen cooperation in science and technology, including enhancing cooperation between governments, boosting the scale of science and technology exchanges, and expanding the scope of such cooperation.

Participants of the meeting agreed that deepening cooperation in science, technology, and innovation will help countries jointly raise the level of research and development, train talents, and cope with global challenges.