The Vice-Premier of the People’s Republic of China, Liu Yandong, has visited Oxford to witness the signing of several research agreements between Oxford University and Chinese partners.
Before the signing, Madame Liu delivered a speech at the Sheldonian Theatre emphasising the deepening of people-to-people exchange between China and the UK and the development of cooperation between the two countries.
Dr Robert Easton, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, said: ‘Expanding and deepening the University’s links with China has been at the heart of our international strategy over the past decade, and will continue to be a major part of our development in the coming years.
‘These landmark agreements will seal Oxford’s collaboration with medical researchers in China for the coming decades. They will lead, among other things, to the establishment of the first Chinese medical research institute outside of China here in Oxford, and in collaboration with our University.
‘Our work with the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences delivers on Oxford’s strategic mission to benefit society on a global scale. Together with the Academy we will work towards new treatments that will benefit many millions of people around the World.’
The research agreements signed during Madame Liu’s visit were between the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the China Scholarship Council and the University of Oxford on behalf of its Medical Sciences Division (MSD) and its Nuffield Department of Medicine (NDM).
Current Oxford collaborations with Chinese partners in the medical sciences include some of the world’s largest ever studies, such as the collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences through the Kadoorie Biobank, which is studying more than 500,000 people across ten sites in China in an effort to identify the genetic and environmental causes of common diseases.