Chinese Ambassador Visits IIASA

HE SHI Zhongjun, the newly appointed Ambassador and Permanent Representative was introduced to IIASA, its work, and activities with China by Director General Kabat on 11 August 2016. China has been a member of IIASA since 2002 with the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) acting as IIASA’s National Member Organization in China.

HE SHI Zhongjun and Director General Kabat discussed how to build on the large number of activities between China and IIASA and how to strategically develop this relationship for the mutual benefit of China, including the NSFC and Chinese Permanent Mission in Vienna, and IIASA.

HE SHI Zhongjun was accompanied by Counsellor Yang Yi and First Secretary Jing Xu from the Permanent Mission and Director General Kabat was joined by Special Advisor to the IIASA Director General and CEO, Professor Chin-min Lee, and IIASA’s Head of External Relations, Communications, and Library Iain Stewart.

Collaborations between China and IIASA

Research collaborations between IIASA and the People’s Republic of China (China) have been highly productive since China became a national member of IIASA in 2002 through the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).

Ambassador Shi Zhongjun, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Vienna met with IIASA Director General and CEO Professor Dr Pavel Kabat at IIASA. © Iain Stewart | IIASA

Multiple research collaborations with partners ranging from universities to institutions of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to governmental bodies have brought new insights to the challenges that China faces. In particular, IIASA’s applied systems analysis has brought a global perspective and interdisciplinary research expertise to Chinese agricultural policy, demography, energy scenarios, air pollution, and risk mitigation among others. Greater collaboration with IIASA has also contributed to China’s research base through enhancing modeling knowledge and skills. And joint projects have brought Chinese researchers into contact with the Institute’s global network of around 2,500 active researchers and 600 research partners. These formal and informal connections, including projects initiated by IIASA and NSFC, have resulted in over 300 joint publications since 2008. IIASA’s academic training programs have also been successfully building the next generation of systems analysts in China. 

Last edited: 16 August 2016