The International Congress of Basic Science opened at Tsinghua University in Beijing on July 14, bringing together Chinese and international leaders, as well as new talent, in mathematics, theoretical physics, theoretical computer and information science for academic discussion and exchanges.

This year's Basic Science Lifetime Award went to six scientists: Andrew Wiles, Edward Witten, Alexei Kitaev, Andrew Chi-Chih Yao, Leslie Valiant, and Richard Hamilton for their pioneering work in quantum physics, modern mathematics, and artificial intelligence. More than 500 presentations and lectures are scheduled for the next two weeks.