Foreign experts praise scientific cooperation

According to foreign experts, China’s achievements in technological innovation have not only attracted global attention but also played a significant role in promoting international cooperation among scientists.

“Science benefits humanity and requires communication and cooperation among nations, a role that the China Association for Science and Technology has historically played,” Elies Molins, co-president of the World Federation of Scientists, said during the federation’s 96th executive council meeting in Beijing this week.

The Federation was founded in 1946. Its aim is to strengthen solidarity and cooperation between scientists from different countries in order to promote scientific development.

“China was one of the founding members of the federation,” said Molins, who is also a professor at the Institute for Materials Research in Barcelona, ​​Spain. “During difficult times when global scientific communication was limited, such as the Cold War, Chinese scientists made significant contributions to promoting communication among scientists around the world.”

The federation was the first international organization to join CAST. Since then, CAST and its affiliated national associations have participated in 875 international science and technology organizations and now organize nearly 800 international academic conferences in China each year, according to CAST.

Chinese scientists have held various positions in the federation. In May 2022, Zhao Zhongxian, an honorary member of CAST, was elected vice president of the federation, and CAST members Xue Lan and Han Xiqiu were elected to its executive council.

Representatives of 31 delegations from nine countries attended the meeting of the Executive Council in Beijing.

He Junke, secretary of the CAST party group, said the executive committee meeting coincided with the 60th anniversary of the first major international science conference held in China.

“CAST is committed to further strengthening its links with WFSW, promoting trust and openness in the international scientific community, and engaging in practical cooperation in initiating international scientific programs and supporting the development of young and female scientists,” said He, who is also vice president and first secretary of the CAST secretariat.

Pascal Janots, representing the French Federation of Academics, drew attention to the frequent industrial and academic exchanges between China and France, in which many Chinese delegations and students participated.

“However, some Western countries, including France, have not fully appreciated China’s extraordinary achievements and its potential for technological innovation in recent years,” Janots said.

He cited China’s Chang’e 6 lunar mission in June, which collected soil samples from the moon and returned them safely, as an example of a significant achievement that has received little attention in the mainstream French media.

“The ignorance of Western countries towards China’s technological achievements is in fact an ideological bias against developing countries,” Janots said. “As a federation of academics, our goal is to eliminate such barriers as much as possible.”

Malick Fall, the Senegalese vice president of the federation, said China has made significant progress in science and technology cooperation with Western countries, but its engagement in Africa remains limited.

“African countries have a strong need for science and technology collaboration, and China has strong research capabilities, particularly in areas like artificial intelligence and renewable energy, that put it at a world-class level,” said Fall, who also serves as deputy chairman of the World Food Leaders Conference for Africa. “Africa offers tremendous opportunities for mutually beneficial research collaboration.”

Fall said that for the past two years the African Union has been focusing on establishing a research fund that would aim to strengthen Africa’s research and innovation capacity.

“As we approach the upcoming China-Africa Forum, we hope to see communication on this matter between the Chinese government and the African Union,” he said. “We expect China to prioritize research cooperation with African countries.”

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