Bai Chunli, President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), was elected President of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World, formerly the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), at the General Meeting of the Academy held in north China's Tianjin on September 18, becoming the first Chinese scientist to assume the post. Bai will take office on January 1, 2013.

The TWAS was established in 1983. It is a non-governmental, non-political and non-profit international science organization sponsored by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It holds an academician conference each year and an academic conference every two to three years. Currently, it attracts nearly 1,000 academicians from 90 countries and regions.

Bai, an expert on nanotechnology, has been engaged in the research of his field since the mid-1980s and has made significant achievements.