A delegation from the Changsha Municipal People’s Government signed a collaboration agreement with City University of Hong Kong (CityU) during their visit to the University on 15 April.

Led by Mr Zhu Jian, Deputy Party Secretary of CPC Changsha Municipal Committee, the delegation met CityU’s management and faculty, including Professor Lu Jian, Vice-President (Research and Technology); Professor Liu Chain-tsuan, University Distinguished Professor from the College of Engineering; Professor Zhang Hua, Chair Professor from the Department of Chemistry; Professor Zhang Wenjun, Chair Professor from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering; Professor Li Qiusheng, Chair Professor from the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering; and Dr Johnny Ho Chung-yin and Dr Lei Dangyuan, Associate Professors from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

Representatives of both organisations confirmed collaborative projects in the meeting. Professor Lu and Mr Chen Zhong, Vice Mayor of Changsha Municipal People’s Government, on behalf of CityU and the Changsha Municipal People’s Government, respectively, signed a collaborative agreement.

The agreement includes strengthening communication on collaboration between the two organisations, promoting the establishment of the Changsha–Hong Kong–Macau Innovation Entrepreneurship Industrial Park, setting up new research and technology organisations, enhancing technology and knowledge transfer, and nurturing talent for innovation and entrepreneurship.

In his welcome remarks, Professor Lu thanked the delegation for visiting CityU and praised Changsha, as the capital of Hunan Province, for its tremendous strengths in education and science research. “Hunan Province has made significant advances in many areas, including engineering and mechanics, new materials, electronic information, biomedicine, aviation and aerospace, and cultural creativity,” he said. “Many of these disciplines are also the focus of CityU’s research and development projects.”

Mr Zhu, in turn, expressed appreciation for CityU’s strengths in science research. “The leading position attained by CityU according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities objectively confirms the University’s achievements and strengths. I believe our collaboration will create a win-win situation,” he said.

The delegation visited the Centre for Advanced Structural Materials, the State Key Laboratory of Terahertz and Millimeter Waves, and the Inter-University 3D Atom Probe Tomography Unit.

As one of the important cities for the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, Changsha has been ranked the top city in China for economic growth over the past ten years, with rich resources for science education.