At the Second Belt and Road Conference on Science and Technology Exchange held in Chengdu, China from 10 to 12 June 2025, DDE was officially recognized as an International Big Science Program during a special session, from 0930 to 1230 on 12 June 2025, hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), China. The DDE Governing Council (GC) Chair, Prof. Harvey Thorleifson and the Chair of the DDE Executive Committee (EC), Prof. Qiuming Cheng, together with several members of the DDE Secretariat and the General Expert Group (GEG) established by MOST to coordinate relations with DDE GC attended the event.

On the morning of 12th June, Profs. Thorleifson and Qiuming introduced DDE and its achievements with the help of 2 posters displayed in the exhibition hall at the venue of the event. The Vice Minister of Science and Technology, Mr. Jiachang Chen was at the exhibition and exchanged his Ministry’s views on DDE and his interest and commitment to DDE as one of the first International Big Science Program supported by MOST.

In the evening of the 11^th Prof. Thorleifson was interviewed by Science and Technology Daily (https://www.stdaily.com/web/English/2025-06/13/content_354509.html) on its vision and mission, past achievements and future directions. Prof. Thorleifson emphasized how DDE is “leading and implementing” the use of emerging technologies such as machine learning, AI etc., in supporting “big science” research to advance geological knowledge. He also recognized  the critical support of MOST in continuing advancement and performance of DDE over the next decade.

On the morning of the 12^th, Prof. Thorleifson representing the DDE GC, and Mr. Xudong Qian of the Kunshan City Government signed an MoU in front of an audience of nearly 200 that guaranteed Kunshan City Government’s hosting and support to the DDE Secretariat over the next 5 years.

This was followed by a 15-minute presentation delivered by Prof. Qiuming Cheng. He traced the origins of the conceptual basis of DDE to his time as the President of IUGS from 2016 to 2020 and provided an overview of the past milestones of DDE and the types of products and services that had been developed. He outlined key features of the DDE Global Big Science Program over the next few years and thanked and acknowledged the critical importance of the support of MOST to deliver tangible benefits to the world of Earth Science in the future.

DDE is the first of the two International Big Science Program, the other being ONCE (Ocean Negative Carbon Emission) to be endorsed by MOST for continuing development and implementation over the next ten years. During the session in the morning of 12 June 2025, DDE and ONCE presentations were followed by other international big science programs on Proteomic Navigator of the Human Body”, “International Meridian Circle Program”, “International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor” and “Square Kilometre Array” in which China initiate or is an active participant. These initiatives combine digital and physical infrastructure and ambitious objectives to promote data driven research paradigms and together mark the beginning of a new era of international big science collaboration dedicated to demonstrating the role of science as a global public good.