The 2018 ASEAN-China Year of Innovation and Forum of Innovation kicked off in Beijing on Thursday.

The innovation year and forum are co-organized by China's Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore and the ASEAN Secretariat.

Wang Zhigang, minister of science and technology, said, "The innovation development of China needs the engagement of ASEAN members, as well as the countries in ASEAN."

"ASEAN members and China are well-connected neighbors who are also partners in good cooperation. The innovation-themed year highlights the consensus between ASEAN members and China on the pattern of innovation-driven development, which will lay a solid foundation for deeper and further cooperation in the future," he said.

China and ASEAN members have worked together on food safety, disaster control and prevention, biological technology, and new energy.

Innovation-driven development, regarded as a State-level strategy for China, will be a new approach inspiring regional and even world economic growth, according to Wang.

The contribution of scientific and technological progress to China's economic growth rose to 57.5 percent in 2017 from 52.2 percent in 2012.