The 42^nd Chinese Control Conference (CCC2023) was held in Tianjin from July 24-26. This conference was sponsored by the Technical Committee on Control Theory (TCCT) of Chinese Association of Automation, the Chinese Association of Automation, and Systems Engineering Society of China, and organized by Nankai University. Zhao Yanlong, Director of the TCCT, Lu Shuangying, First Level Inspector of the Tianjin Association for Science and Technology, Chen Yulu, President of Nankai University, and Fang Yongchun, Vice President of Nankai University, attended and congratulated on the opening of the conference.

        On the conference, Professor Fang Yongchun of Nankai University and Professor Hong Yiguang of Tongji University served as chairmen, Professor Chen Zengqiang of Nankai University and Professor Zuo Zhiqiang of Tianjin University served as vice chairmen, Professor Han Jianda of Nankai University and Professor Sun Jian of Beijing Institute of Technology served as Procedure Committee Chair, Professor Zhao Xin of Nankai University served as Organizing Committee Chair, and Professor Liu Jingtai of Nankai University served as Regional Chair.

        A total of 2321 papers from 15 countries and regions were received, and over 2400 registered representatives attended CCC2023, including Academician Chen Hanfu, Academician Sun Youxian, Academician Guo Lei, Academician Chen Jie, Academician Dai Qionghai, Academician Duan Guangren, Academician Wang Yaonan, Academician Qiao Hong, Academician Wang Chengshan, as well as well-known experts in the field of control from overseas, such as Academicians of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, Academicians of the Academy of Engineering Singapore, and Academicians of the Korean Academy of Engineering Sciences. After strict review by the Procedure Committee, 1,679 papers that covered 43 fields of research were admitted to the conference and included in the Collection of Dissertations, with English papers accounting for 96%. At present, the Collection of Dissertations from the 42^nd Chinese Control Conference has entered the process of IEEE conference publishing program (IEEE classification number: CFP2340A).

        The opening ceremony of CCC2023 was held on the morning of July 24, presided over by Liu Jingtai. Chen Yulu, Zhao Yanlong, and Fang Yongchun delivered speeches. They extended their congratulations to the convening of the conference and warm welcome to the attendance of all representatives.

        Chen Yulu, on behalf of Nankai University, welcomed all attendees to the conference, thanked all guests and people from all walks of life for their long-term support for the development of Nankai University and the artificial intelligence, and wished the conference a complete success. He pointed out that it is widely believed that automatic control technology has become an enabling technology for the development of modern science and technology. This conference would be a feast for knowledge exchanges, brainstorming, and potential future achievements. He stressed that all representatives will broaden their horizons, find new ideas, consolidate their friendship, and strengthen communication and cooperation in this conference. He expressed hope that experts and scholars will enhance their ties with Nankai University, and take the CCC2023 as an opportunity to work together with Nankai University in the fields of control, AI and robotics for disciplinary development and further academic exchanges, and upgrade the international reputation of Nankai University.

        Zhao Yanlong, on behalf of TCCT, conveyed his gratitude to all attendees for their presence and introduced the history of TCCT and CCC. He also introduced the TCCT Outstanding Contribution Award, Guan Zhao Zhi Award for Excellent Paper, Chen Han Fu Award, and Science China - Chinese Control Conference Poster Award that are established by TCCT. He said that this session is of great significance as it was the first time that CCC was held in Tianjin, the birthplace of TCCT, since its establishment in 1961.

        On behalf of the organizing committee and co-chairman Professor Hong Yiguang of the conference, Fang Yongchun welcomed all representatives and announced the opening of the 42^nd Chinese Control Conference. He introduced the speakers and relevant information of the 7 keynote speeches, 2 special seminars, 4 development forums, and 4 pre-conference workshops of this conference, hoping that all attending representatives can have in-depth exchanges and bring about more innovation and creativity.

        Seven internationally renowned scholars, including Academician Dai Qionghai of Tsinghua University in China, Professor Rodolphe Sepulchre of Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, Professor Makoto Iwasaki of Nagoya University of Technology in Japan, Academician Qiao Hong of the Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Professor Qiu Li of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in China, Professor Magnus Egerstedt of the University of California in the United States, and Professor Ying Tan of the University of Melbourne in Australia, were invited to give reports on system control theory and application at the conference. Keynote speeches, special workshops, development forums, oral presentations, and paper posting were also held during the conference.

        This conference offered Guan Zhao Zhi Award for Excellent Paper, Science China - Chinese Control Conference Poster Award, TCCT Outstanding Contribution Award, Chen Han Fu Award, and IEEECSS Beijing Chapter Young Author Award, aiming to reward winners’ outstanding contributions to the theoretical and applied development of systems science and control science in China, and to reward outstanding young scholars to foster more high-end talents in the discipline and further boost the development of systems science and control science in China.

     On the evening of July 26, the closing ceremony and award ceremony of the conference was held in Tianjin, where awards such as the TCCT Outstanding Contribution Award and Chen Han Fu Award were presented. Dr. Luo Hanqian and co-author Professor Fang Yongchun of Nankai University won the 17^th Science China - Chinese Control Conference Poster Award, and Professor Zhao Xin from College of Artificial Intelligence won the Outstanding Organizational Contribution Award of the 42^nd Chinese Control Conference.

        The China Control Conference (CCC) is a series of academic annual conferences initiated by Technical Committee on Control Theory (TCCT) of Chinese Association of Automation. Up to date, 42 CCC sessions have been organized since 1979 and has now developed into one of the most influential academic conferences in the field of international control. The CCC is designed to provide an academic exchange opportunity for experts, scholars, engineering technicians, and graduate students in the field of system control, in order to promote the disciplinary development of system control science and the practical application of control technology.

        The conference was co-organized by the Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the China Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, the Shanghai Academy of Systems Science, the Asian Control Association, the IEEE Control Systems Society, the Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems, Korea, the Society of Instrument and Control. Engineers, Japan, Tianjin University, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin University of Technology, Tiangong University, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Civil Aviation University of China, Xinchuang Haihe Laboratory, Tianjin Automation Society, and Tianjin Intelligent Science and Technology Research Association.