China and France sign cooperation agreements in mathematics and other fields
Jun. 24, 2024
Representatives of Chinese and French educational institutions convened in Paris for a conference on basic science, knowledge innovation, and talent development on June 20. The event sought to create a collaborative platform for educational, research, and industrial exchange between the two countries. Several Chinese and French universities signed cooperation agreements in mathematics and a number of other fields.
Chinese Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng emphasized both countries’ long-standing traditions of valuing education and respecting teachers. He highlighted China’s recent efforts to support basic research and talent development, as well as problem-driven research in various disciplines and knowledge innovation. The minister emphasized the importance of international cooperation and exchange in education, particularly China–France collaboration, and the importance of fostering knowledge innovation and talent development in order to address future global challenges.
Gong Qihuang, President of Peking University and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, stressed the importance of focusing on basic science and talent development in this time of rapid change. He urged China and France to strengthen their exchange and collaboration in basic science in order to spur innovation.
French scientist Gerard Mourou, the 2018 Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics and recipient of an honorary doctorate from Peking University, discussed his collaboration with Chinese scholars and students on high-intensity lasers. He expressed his pleasure in working with Chinese researchers and pledged to continue promoting educational cooperation between France and China.
During the conference, Wuhan University and Paris-Saclay University signed a letter of intent to establish the China–France Joint Research Center for Mathematics. Yuan Yufeng, Vice President of Wuhan University, said he hoped the new research center would further enhance cooperation in basic science between the two countries. Peking University and the European School of Management and Technology signed a memorandum of understanding, while the Communication University of China and Sorbonne Nouvelle University signed a student exchange agreement. Chinese and French scholars also jointly presented a number of findings from the Global Ocean Negative Carbon Emissions program.
