On the afternoon of May 3, the signing ceremony of the framework agreement on joint establishment of an African institute between CSU and CCECC was held in the Meeting Room III of the Science Building. President of CSU Tian Hongqi and President of CCECC Yuan Li signed the agreement on behalf of both sides. Vice Presidents of CSU Chen Chunyang and Huang Jianling and relevant officials of CCECC were present at the ceremony.
China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), formerly Foreign Aid Department of the Ministry of Railways of P.R.C., was established in 1979. As one of the four pioneers performing international contracting and economic cooperation, CCECC has ever organized and constructed Tazara Railway, China’s largest economic assistance project, and currently evolved into a large-scale state-owned enterprise characterized by railway engineering and mainly engaged in engineering contracting, equally with design consulting, labor cooperation, real estate development, import and export trade, industrial investment and hotel catering.
According to the agreement, the African institute is established relying on CSU’s discipline, scientific research and talent advantages and CCECC’s 50 years of successful development experience in Africa. The institute aims to conduct research to practice the “Belt and Road” initiative in Africa and realize long-term sustainable joint development. Its research mainly focuses on China-Africa infrastructure cooperation, China-Africa capacity cooperation, China-Africa energy resource development and China-Africa medical cooperation. The institute is expected to be a supporting platform for business expansion of CCECC, an international platform for “Double First-class” construction of CSU and a consultation platform for the national “Belt and Road” initiative and aims to become a national think tank.
In Tian Hongqi’s opinion, the signing will help further implement the national “Belt and Road” initiative, bring intelligence and talent advantages to the development of China and Africa and certainly provide a broader cooperation platform for CSU and CCECC. More specifically, it will drive disciplinary construction, talent cultivation and internationalization of CSU and fill new energy to CSU’s “Double First-class” construction.
Yuan Li believes that the establishment of African institute will help CCECC better understand the basic information, natural and humanistic situations, cooperation prospects and risks and resource reserve of Africa, promote deepening of political and economic relationship between China and Africa, and lay a theory and application foundation for servicing “Belt and Road” cooperation.
Before the signing ceremony, Yuan Li was hired by CSU as a part-time professor. He made a keynote speech titled “From Lekki Free Trade Zone to Industrial Parks in Ethiopia: China-Africa Capacity Cooperation and Reflection” in the lecture hall of the Science Building.
Source: Development and Liaison Office
