The International Council for Industrial and Applied Mathematics opened in Beijing on Monday, with Vice-President Li Yuanchao attending the opening ceremony.

First launched in 1987, the conference has become a grand gathering of the professionals and industrial experts of the highest level, at the largest scale, and with the most extensive influence in the field of industrial and applied mathematics.

"It is the first time for China to host the Congress, which will be a great opportunity for all delegates, including Chinese delegates, to exchange recent developments and look into the future in the field of industrial and applied mathematics," Vice-President Li said in a speech delivered at the opening ceremony.

Li said that the application of mathematics is an important driving force behind the modernization of China, which plays a significant role in the economic development and scientific and technological progress of the country such as the development of the Tianhe-2 supercomputer, the construction of the Three Gorges Reservoir and the optimization of the high-speed railway.

"Faced with the emerging world-wide sci-tech and industrial revolution, China will implement strategies on innovation-driven development, keep on promoting new forms of industrialization, and build an innovative nation. This certainly provides exceptional opportunities for the development of S&T, including mathematics," he said.

Li majored in mathematics at Shanghai Normal University from 1972 to 1974.

"There was a time when 'applied mathematics' might have meant something narrow enough to fit into a single undergraduate course. Those days are gone. Among the people who are at this meeting because they belong to our community are computational scientists, statisticians, data analysts, mathematical biologists, and computer scientists," said Barbara Keyfitz, president of the International Council for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ICIAM).

According to Guo Lei, president of the conference, more than 3,100 participants coming from more than 70 countries and regions attended the conference this year.

This is also the first time that ICIAM has taken place in a developing country.