As President of the Chinese Chemical Society (CCS) and Executive Chairman of the 54th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO2022), I am delighted to be part of this wonderful gathering of the world's future chemists. At this moment, I can’t wait to welcome all the participants, our young chemistry talents from all around the world.

CCS has had a long history with International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO). In 1984, CCS set up the Chemistry Olympiad (CChO) among high school students nationwide. Since 1987, CCS started to participate in IChO. More than 100,000 Chinese high school students participate in this event each year. From this initial interest in chemistry, it has had encouraged countless teenagers in China, and lead to a life-long pursuit of chemistry. There are in fact some friends and colleagues of mine who have benefited from their experiences of participating in CChO and IChO in their high school years and now have becoming distinguished young scholars. I am deeply proud of this. 

CCS hosted the 27th IChO for the first time together with Peking University in 1995, and 27 years later, we will team up with Nankai University to hold the IChO again. I would like to show our great appreciation to the IChO Steering Committee for their trust in CCS. I also want to thank the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) and the Tianjin Government for their great support during years of organizing. Most importantly, I am sincerely grateful to all the staff and volunteers who have been involved in this systematic work; teachers and students, with their unparalleled creativity and dedication will make this IChO a big success as we all wish!

It is known that 2022 is the United Nations International Year of Basic Science for Sustainable Development. As a core subject with strong practicality, chemistry has made unparalleled contributions to the progress and development of human society in the past. There is no doubt that chemistry will continue to make greater contributions to the sustainable development of the world and a better life for mankind in the future. I wish you all the best of luck in the IChO2022.

Executive Chairman of IChO2022, academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Prof. YAO Jiannian