On Nov. 15, 2011, the Ceremony for Inauguration of Shenzhen Biological Breeding Innovation Research Institute, CAAS, Signing of Contract for Cooperation with IRRI, and Start of Major Scientific Research Projects was held in Osmanthus Hall of Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center. This symbolizes the establishment of “Shenzhen Biological Breeding Innovation Research Institute, CAAS” (“Research Institute”) jointly created by CAAS and BGI (Beijing Genomics Institute)-Shenzhen. The Research Institute and IRRI hosted the contract-signing ceremony for cooperation, and declared the formal start of global 3000 rice core collections resequencing project which shows the overall development of genome-wide rice molecular breeding.

　　In the morning, leaders from the Ministry of Agriculture, CAAS, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and related departments under Shenzhen Municipal Government, as well as related leaders and scientific research fellows from BGI, nearly 40 invited media, and over 300 on-scene viewers got together and witnessed the grand inauguration of “Shenzhen Biological Breeding Innovation Research Institute, CAAS”.

　　Zhai Huqu (alternate member of the Central Committee and former president of CAAS), Robert Zieler (President of IRRI), Pan Haiping (deputy director general of Department of Science and Education, Ministry of Agriculture), Yang Yi (director of Foreign Economic Cooperation Center, Ministry of Agriculture), Ji Shaoqin (consultant of Promotion Division, Department of Science and Education, Ministry of Agriculture), Li Chi (chief of Exhibition Division, Foreign Economic Cooperation Center, Ministry of Agriculture), Chen Dong (vice president of Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences), Wang Rong (standing committee member of Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, and secretary of Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee), Xu Qin (mayor of Shenzhen People’s Government), Wang Yi (secretary general and standing committee member of Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee), Chen Yingchun (vice mayor and standing committee member of Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee), Jiang Zunyu (standing committee member of Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee, and secretary of Longgang District Party Committee), Gao Zhenhuai (deputy secretary general of Shenzhen Municipal Government), He Yongzhi (director general of Agriculture & Fishery Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality), Wu You (deputy director of Development and Reform Commission of Shenzhen Municipality), Wang Xuewei (director of Shenzhen Science ,Industry, Trade and Information Technology Commission), Qiao Jiahua (director of Shenzhen Finance Commission), Wang Peng (director of Urban Planning, Land and Resources Commission of Shenzhen Municipality), Xiong Xiaoping (deputy head of Longgang District), Chen Kaiduo (leader of Yantian District, director general of Shenzhen Government Institutions Registration Bureau), Shao Yifei (director general of Binhai Administration Bureau, Urban Planning, Land and Resources Commission of Shenzhen Municipality), and secretary, director, and deputy directors of the project site Dapeng Street, etc. attended the news release conference.

　　Wang Ren, vice president of CAAS and president of Shenzhen Biological Breeding Innovation Research Institute, presided over the inauguration ceremony. Before the ceremony, Zhai Huqu, alternate member of the Central Committee and former president of CAAS, gave an address, and expressed his wish that, under the leading and support of Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee and Government, and after the joint efforts of related units, the Research Institute is surely built into a platform for international and domestic communication, and provides powerful scientific and technological supports for Chinese biological breeding and food safety. In succession, president Wang Jian of BGI-Shenzhen gave a speech. He emphasized that BGI-Shenzhen has made great contributions to global basic research on genome related to agriculture and environment, and showed his confidence in future development. He said, we have every reason to believe that extending the basic research achievements to application science and breeding field will arouse a revolution and drastically change the present development orbit, rhythm and mode of the world agriculture. Later, president Robert Zeigler of IRRI expressed in his speech that, the establishment of Shenzhen Biological Breeding Innovation Research Institute gives a definite signal, and shows the Chinese government’s great support in terms of the facilities necessary for further promoting international food safety. Especially, China has taken an active part in the Global Rice Coordination Group Program organized by IRRI. We support China’s leading function in rice research and improvement, and the IRRI pays much attention to the cooperation with CAAS, BGI, and other Chinese partners. 

　　Mayor Xu Qin pointed out in his speech that, biological breeding plays a basic and critical role in modern agriculture; it is one of the emerging industries with broad development prospect and an important part of biotechnological industry, and has extremely great significance for boosting agricultural science and technology innovation, promoting the long-term steady agricultural development, and guaranteeing food safety. As the first national innovation city and a national biological industry base, Shenzhen attaches much importance to developing biological industry including biological breeding, takes it as a strategic emerging industry, and has specially made the planning and policy for developing biological industry, for purpose of pushing the large-scale and powerful development of biological industry.

　　Mayor Xu Qin still emphasized that, during the “12th five-year” planning, Shenzhen Special Economic Zone will further follow the spirit of the speeches of General Secretary Hu Jintao at the 30th Anniversary of Establishment of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, and when attending the World University Games in Shenzhen and surveying Shenzhen of Guangdong Province; and closely surrounding the theme of scientific development and the main line of accelerating economic development mode transformation, Shenzhen Special Economic Zone will accelerate innovation and development, create Shenzhen quality actively, and make great efforts to develop six strategic emerging industries including biological industry. The city’s strategic emerging industries are estimated to break through 2 trillions Yuan in 2015, and where, the annual sales income of biological industry will reach up to over 200 billion Yuan. This will provide enormous opportunities and broad space for the development of biological breeding industry. Meanwhile, mayor Xu Qin considered that, CAAS is a state-level agricultural scientific research institution, BGI is an international top-ranking gene scientific research team, and IRRI is even a world famous agricultural scientific research institution. The three parties unite together, exert their own comparative superiority, and boost the research of biological breeding technology and the development of biological breeding industry jointly. This will surely greatly enhance the municipal and even the national agricultural modernization, innovation capacity and development level of biological breeding industry. Agricultural scientific research institutions like Biological Breeding Innovation Research Institute are sincerely welcomed to settle in Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, and are encouraged to form innovation institutions of agricultural science & technology and biological agriculture with global influences. Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee and Government will provide the most powerful support and the best services, create the Innovation Research Institute into an international top-grade highland of biological breeding innovation and important platform for international biological breeding technology communication and cooperation, highlight its characteristics of high grade, precision and advancement, and make positive contributions to the development of Chinese modern agriculture and biological breeding industry.　 

　　Next, “Shenzhen Biological Breeding Innovation Research Institute, CAAS” was inaugurated jointly by Zhai Huqu, president of CAAS, and Wang Rong, secretary of Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, and was formally established under the witness of over 300 counterparts on the spot.

　　At the ceremony of cooperative contract signing with the IRRI, vice president Zhang Gengyun of the Research Institute introduced both parties’ cooperation. He said, rice is a primary grain crop of China, and has made great contributions to Chinese food safety. China has always ranked a leading place in the world for its traditional rice breeding level. Along with the increasingly deep-going research on rice genome, genetic resource has been listed as a strategic resource in the 21st century, and digging and utilizing genetic resources would be the main battlefield of biological industry. Later, president Wang Ren of the Research Institute and president Robert Zeigler of IRRI signed the Framework Agreement of Cooperation Strategy on behalf of both parties.

　　In succession, vice president Li Zhikang of the Research Institute declared solemnly that, global 3000 rice core collections resequencing project is started! Henceforth, nation-level agricultural research strength and comprehensive advantages, like the technological reserve, talent team and international cooperation, etc. of CAAS, will be combined with the powerful technological advantages of BGI in genome research to develop global rice core collections resequencing and database building in the Research Institute, including the genome resequencing of around 3,000 rice-breeding-related core collections and around 8,000 important germplasms (more than 10,000 collections in total) and corresponding database building. Also, the project will establish the genotype database of rice core collections and phenotype database of important agricultural characters quickly, unearth excellent genes in a large scale, break through the technical bottleneck in molecular improvement of complex rice characters, accelerate the cultivation of high-output, good-quality, and extensively-applicable new varieties, and enhance Chinese rice molecular breeding level comprehensively.

　　CAAS leaders at this occasion include Wang Ren, vice president of CAAS; Liu Jifang, director of Office of CAAS; Wang Xiaohu, director general of Bureau of Science and Technology Management, CAAS; Shi Zhiguo, director general of Finance Planning Bureau of CAAS; Zhang Lubiao, director general of Department of International Cooperation, CAAS; Fang Yiwen, secretary of the Party Committee of the Service Bureau, CAAS; Wang Xiaoju, deputy director general of Bureau of Science & Technology Management, CAAS; Wang Xuejun, deputy director general of Bureau of Personnel, CAAS; Wan Jianmin, president of Institute of Crop Science, CAAS; Hu Peisong, vice president of China Rice Research Institute; Jia Jizeng, chief scientist of National “973” Program; Li Zhikang, vice president of Shenzhen Biological Breeding Innovation Research Institute, CAAS; Yang Huanming, director general of BGI-Shenzhen and academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Wang Jian, president of BGI-Shenzhen; Wang Jun, executive president of BGI-Shenzhen; Huang Shengquan, administrative president of BGI-Shenzhen; Long Yuehua, vice director general of BGI-Shenzhen; and Zhang Gengyun, principal of Agricultural Platform of BGI-Shenzhen, and vice president of the Research Institute, etc.