The Review of Russia’s guest of Honor Event for the 18th CIEP

What is the 18th CIEP and Russia’s Guest of Honor

On December 9 2020, the closing ceremony of Russia’s guest of honor event for The 18th Conference on International Exchange of Professionals (CIEP) was held in Shenzhen and Moscow at the same time virtually. Huang Wei, Vice Minister of Science and Technology of China, and Natalia Borisova, Deputy Minister of Science and Education of Russia attended the ceremony and delivered the closing speech. Lu Ming, a member of the leading Party Group of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, presided over the closing ceremony.

The 18th Conference on International Exchange of Professionals (CIEP) had attendees from various industries. It housed responsible persons from the Foreign Experts Service Department, Talent Introduction Department, Cooperation Department, Exchange Center of the Ministry of Science and Technology, International Cooperation Bureau of SASAC, Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission, some cooperative units of the CIEP. Also in attendance were Russian universities, scientific research institutions and technology enterprises.

The event’s objective was to promote the critical role of science and technology innovation through the “Smooth Circulation”. A number of activities were lined up to facilitate this theme, such as various activities of small scale, multiple sessions and precision will be held based on the extant problems, market demands and the actual situations of relevant partners. The event focused on fundamental and applied scientific research, as well as significant issues in economic and social development, heated issues and industrial development needs, and overseas experts and scholars of different academic and technical backgrounds, as well as technology holders, will be invited to carry out in-depth exchanges with the Chinese partners.

The Purpose and Process of the Visit of the Russian Delegation

In one of his speeches, Vice Minister Huang Wei expressed that the COVID-19 epidemic did not hinder the friendship and exchanges between China and Russia. Being the first major event since the launch of the Year of Scientific and Technological Innovation between China and Russia, Russia being a guest of honor at the 18th CIEP is a significant move in nurturing the relationships between the two nations. Their guesting was generally well-received by the public and online viewers. Vice Minister Huang Wei hoped that Russia would become a long-term partner of the CIEP and work with China to promote practical bilateral international scientific and technological cooperation and exchanges, and jointly upgrade China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination in the new era to better benefit the people of the two countries and even the world.

The Deputy Minister of Russia, Borisova, welcomed the event with open arms and said that Russia’s guest of honor was a significant event under the framework of the Russian and Chinese Year of Science and Technology Innovation. Nine important events have preceded the 18th CIEP, including “Russian Guest of Honor Week”, a high-tech forum, a thematic round table conference, bilateral meetings and negotiations. There were more than 500 famed experts, professional scholars and enterprise leaders from the two countries participated in the event, and the number of participants online and offline was over 800,000. 

Russia’s key universities and scientific research institutions demonstrated nearly 150 cooperation projects, scientific research achievements and personnel training programs during the event. These successful innovations can lead to more further cooperation agreements in the future. Borisova expressed that Russia would continue to consolidate the achievements of scientific and technological cooperation and look for more new opportunities for developing bilateral cooperation.

What the China and Russian Delegation Gained

Xia Bing, the Deputy Director of China International Personnel Exchange Center and Popov Gennady, the Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the International Union of Instrument Manufacturing and Information Communication of Russia, jointly delivered the summation of the event’s agenda for each country respectively. 

Since its launch in September, a total of nine special events have been held in the efforts to strengthen the alliance between the nations. A number of offline and online video conferences in Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Harbin, Nanjing, Wuhan, and Xi’an that focus on the fields of advanced manufacturing, new materials, biomedicine and health, science and education innovation and cooperation in universities were held as a result. Other important milestones were the establishment of the China-Russia Alliance of Natural Products and New Drug Discovery (CRAND), the awarding of the “Sub Center of Sino Russian Silk Road Industrial Park”, the launch of the initiative of co-building the “Silk Road Science and Education Center”.

The 18th CIEP saw a groundbreaking number of attendees and participants that reached a new high among all countries. This is a major breakthrough in terms of promoting the diplomacy and two-way flow of talents between the two nations, which in turn strengthens the cultural relationship between the two and inspire more practical cooperation changes.

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