The Belt and Road Forum: International Academic Conference on Management Science, Intelligent Systems and Sustainable Business Development was held at Xi’an University of Technology from September 19 to 20. XUT Vice President Gao Yong attended the conference and delivered an address. The event was moderated by Professor Wang Wenli from the School of Economics and Management.
Gao extended a warm welcome to the experts, scholars and international guests attending the conference and gave an overview of XUT. He noted that the conference focused on frontier topics such as intelligent systems and digital innovation, sustainable business and corporate governance, green transition and low-carbon development, as well as urban governance and policy innovation. He expressed confidence that the event would contribute to advancing global sustainable development and building a community with a shared future for humanity.
At the opening ceremony, Li Jianxun, Dean of XUT’s School of Economics and Management, delivered remarks on behalf of the School and the organisers. Associate Professor Giray Gozgor from the University of Bradford School of Management, Professor Ling Shuai from the College of Management and Economics at Tianjin University, and Professor Wang Wenli from XUT’s School of Economics and Management delivered keynote presentations titled “Intelligence under Pressure: Artificial Intelligence, Geopolitical Risk and the Green Transformation of the Belt and Road Initiative,” “Complexity, Operations and Governance of Public Services Driven by Digital Intelligence,” and “Can Digitalisation Amplify the Impact of Rural Microfinance on Rural Household Income? A Threshold Effect Analysis Based on Provincial Panel Data from China,” respectively.
The conference featured eight parallel sessions held both online and on site. Centred on management science, intelligent systems and sustainable business development, the sessions examined key topics including intelligent decision-making and digital governance, artificial intelligence and industrial organisation, cross-border supply chain resilience, green finance and environmental, social and governance practices, low-carbon transition and sustainable business models, and international production capacity cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.
The conference was jointly hosted by XUT’s School of Economics and Management and the Pacific Rim Sustainable Development Association. Nearly 60 experts and scholars from 19 universities and related institutions in nine countries and regions—including the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong SAR, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia, Poland and the United States—attended the event. Together with faculty and student representatives, the conference attracted more than 200 participants.
