15 April 2018 - 20 April 2018
Beijing and Nanjing, China

IIASA Director General visits China

IIASA Director General and Chief Executive Officer Professor Dr. Pavel Kabat is  made an official visit to the People's Republic of China on 15-20 April 2018.

Beijing Business District © Shutterstock Durch

Beijing Business District © Shutterstock Durch

While in China, Kabat attended a number of bilateral meetings in both Beijing and Nanjing with key members of Chinese academia to discuss enhancing collaborations with Chinese research partners. The official visit was aimed at further developing IIASA’s productive relationship with China through high-level meetings, organized to identify mutually beneficial activities, which will strengthen cooperation and enhance China-IIASA collaborations further.

This included a meeting with Xie Xincheng, Vice President of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and new IIASA Council Member for China, along with other key collaborators from the NSFC. 

A meeting with Friedrich Stift, Ambassador of Austria to China, concluded his time in Beijing. Chin-Min Lee, Special Advisor to the IIASA Director General and Chief Executive Officer, accompanied Kabat on the visit. 

(L-R) Professor Dr. Pavel Kabat, Professor Xie Xincheng, Vice President of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and IIASA Council Member for China, Chin-Min Lee, Special Advisor to the IIASA Director General and Chief Executive Officer and Feng Feng Director of the Bureau of International Cooperation, NSFC © IIASA

(L-R) President of Peking University Lin Jianhua and Professor Dr. Pavel Kabat © IIASA

Signing of Postdoctoral Cooperation Agreement with Peking University 

Kabat also visited Peking University, where he signed a memorandum of understanding with the President of the University Lin Jianhua. The memorandum will further expand capacity building activities between Peking University and IIASA. It will form the establishment of an International Postdoctoral Training Program for highly qualified and early-career postdoctoral researchers, to carry out research in fields of mutual interest at both Peking University and IIASA. The signing of the memorandum follows an earlier visit to IIASA in 2018 from a Peking University delegation lead by President Lin Jianhua.

Kabat commented, "That the development of post-doctoral cooperation project not only broadens the horizons of young researchers and enhances research capabilities, but also serves as a link to further promote academic exchanges between the two institutions." He expressed his gratitude to Peking University for their efforts to cooperate with IIASA and hopes to promote the smooth progress of the post-doctoral training programs of both parties. A first call for the program will be announced shortly.

World Climate Research Program (WCRP)

During his time in Nanjing, Kabat attended a meeting of the joint scientific committee of the World Climate Research Program which will take place at Nanjing University. The WCRP organizes meetings, workshops and conferences to coordinate and facilitate climate research. The research itself is done by individual scientists working in national and regional institutes, laboratories and universities. WCRP committees, working groups and projects, assisted by the Joint Planning Staff (JPS), are the main vehicles for setting the research agenda and mobilizing the broader research community on specific activities.

WCRP utilizes a multidisciplinary approach, organizing large-scale observational and modelling projects and providing an international forum to align the efforts of thousands of climate scientists working to provide the best possible climate information. WCRP is currently developing an achievements and future plans summary document, building upon past strategic and implementation documents as well as a range of recent workshops and publications.

IIASA and China

Research collaborations between IIASA and the People’s Republic of China have been highly productive since China became a national member of IIASA in 2002 through the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). Since 2010, research collaborations between IIASA and China have focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable agriculture, water resources, disaster preparedness, demography, and the transition to a sustainable energy system in China. Underpinning the joint work is systems analysis – one of the few research tools with the breadth and depth to explore these complex problems across multiple sectors, countries, and timeframes. 

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Last edited: 19 September 2019

Info Sheet on IIASA Activities with China

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