State Vice-President Xi Jinping led a delegation visiting the Shenzhen Research Institute of City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and its Biotech and Health Centre on 5 July. He is the most senior state leader ever to have visited CityU facilities.

 

Vice-President Xi's delegation was warmly welcomed by Professor (Chair) Roderick Wong Sue-cheung, Vice-President (Research) of CityU, Mr James Ng Kam-ming, Executive Director of City University Extension, and Professor (Chair) Michael Yang Mengsu, from the Department of Biology and Chemistry and Director of the Biotech and Health Centre.

 

Professor Wong highlighted to Vice-President Xi the development of CityU and its Shenzhen Research Institute. Professor Yang then presented some of the research undertaken at the Biotech and Health Centre, including the

testing of anticancer drugs that uses biochip technology, innovative diagnosis technology to detect cervical cancer, and the development of biosensors combining communication and biology technologies for the testing of blood and urine samples.

 

Keenly interested in CityU's research, Vice-President Xi asked the University's researchers many questions. He was also shown a model of the CityU (Shenzhen) Research Institute Building, expected to be built and operational by 2009, when it will become a permanent base for the University's applied research, incubation and teaching activities on the mainland.

 

Vice-President Xi said there is a well-founded collaborative platform between Guangdong and Hong Kong that can provide tremendous development opportunities for universities in the territory.

 

After expressing CityU's honour at receiving a visit from Vice-President Xi, Professor Wong said, "CityU has dedicated itself to applied research. It is very encouraging to have one of the top leaders pay a personal visit to our research centre to gain an understanding of our strengths in this area."

 

CityU established its presence in Shenzhen Virtual University Park in 2000 and has so far set up three research centres there, including the Biotech and Health Centre, the Industrial Technology Research Centre and the Environmental Mangrove Research Centre. Established in 2002, the Biotech and Health Centre aims to become a leading institute in developing biochip and nanobiology technologies. With a focus on innovative research, the centre will apply biochip and nanobiology technologies to develop modern Chinese medicines and clinical diagnosis products.