On October 24th, the 13th National Conference on Hydraulic Machinery and Its Systems, as well as the Progress Exchange Meeting of the National Natural Science Foundation Projects, was successfully held in Zhenjiang. More than 400 representatives from universities, research institutes, manufacturing, and service enterprises from across the country attended the conference. During the conference, participants engaged in in-depth discussions and exchanges on scientific issues, technological innovations related to hydraulic machinery and its systems, as well as the opportunities and challenges for the development of hydraulic machinery in the context of achieving the "dual carbon" goals. This served to promote the development of hydraulic machinery and its systems discipline in China.

The conference was jointly organized by the Pump and Pump Station Professional Committee of the Chinese Hydraulic Engineering Society, the Water Power Equipment Special Committee of the Chinese Society for Electrical Engineering, the Fluid Machinery Professional Committee of the Chinese Society of Engineering Thermophysics, and the Irrigation and Drainage Machinery Branch of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Machinery. It was hosted by the Research Center of Fluid Machinery Engineering and Technology of Jiangsu University and the College of Ocean Equipment Engineering.

In the opening speech, Hongbo Li, the Party Secretary of Jiangsu University, pointed out that in the context of the national strategy to vigorously promote "dual carbon" development, strengthening original innovation and technological innovation in the field of hydraulic machinery is not only an internal requirement for the high-quality development of the hydraulic machinery industry, but also an urgent need for China to comprehensively implement the innovation-driven development strategy. Hydraulic machinery has always been a traditional strength of Jiangsu University. The fluid machinery and engineering discipline, which it relies on, is the only national key discipline with a research focus on water pumps in China. The discipline has four international and national platforms, including the National Center for International Research on Energy Saving Technology of Fluid Engineering Equipment, the Advanced Technology for High-end Fluid Machinery Overseas Expertise Introduction Center for Discipline Innovation, the National Research Center of Pumps, and the National Energy Advanced Nuclear Pump Technology R&D Center. It also has nine provincial and ministerial level platforms. The discipline has achieved fruitful original results in the research and development of key and fundamental issues in national key engineering projects and pumps for major equipment. Li Hongbo expressed his hope that experts at the conference will actively share and exchange the latest achievements and development trends in the field of hydraulic machinery, and contribute to accelerating China's achievement of self-reliance and self-strengthening in the field of hydraulic machinery and its systems at a high level of science and technology.

Shouqi Yuan, the Chairman of the Conference and the Director of the National Research Center of Pumps at Jiangsu University, stated that in recent years, numerous research achievements in hydraulic machinery and the successful application of mechanical equipment in major national projects such as the Three Gorges Ship Lock and the South-to-North Water Diversion have played a crucial role in sustainable and low-carbon economic development. Against the backdrop of the national push for "dual carbon" development, the prospects for the hydraulic machinery industry are broad but the road ahead is challenging. He expressed the hope that practitioners in the field of hydraulic machinery can seize the opportunities of the times and collectively advance research in hydraulic machinery and its related systems. Particularly, young talents in the industry are encouraged to actively engage in major national engineering projects, contributing to the high-quality development of the discipline of hydraulic machinery and its systems in China.

In the subsequent session of invited presentations, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Chief Engineer of Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, Ya’an Hu; Professor at Xi'an University of Technology and Director of the State Key Laboratory Base of Eco-Hydraulic Engineering in Arid Area, Xingqi Luo; Professor at China Agricultural University and Changjiang Scholar Distinguished Professor, Fujun Wang; Professor at Lanzhou University of Technology, Rennian Li; Tenured Professor at Tsinghua University, Zhengwei Wang; and Shouqi Yuan, delivered brilliant presentations on topics such as "Hydraulic Characteristics of Control Valves in Hydraulic Ship Lifts", "Hydraulic Design Theory and Technology of Hydraulic Machinery and Its Application", "Research on Erosion and Cavitation Coupling in Hydraulic Machinery", "Multiphase Flow Research in Hydraulic Machinery", "Multi-field Coupling Characteristics Analysis of Hydraulic Machinery and Systems", and "Emergency Water Supply and Integrated Purification Equipment in Mountainous and Remote Disaster-Stricken Areas". The content of the presentations showcased the cutting-edge research in hydraulic machinery nationwide, and participants engaged in lively discussions regarding the academic issues and research findings presented.

In the afternoon, the 13th National Conference on Hydraulic Machinery and Its Systems, along with the Progress Exchange Meeting of the National Natural Science Foundation Projects, featured 72 academic presentations across six separate sessions simultaneously. These sessions shared the latest research ideas and advancements in the relevant fields, collectively driving the high-quality development of hydraulic machinery and its systems discipline in China.