Chinese Ambassador declared an interest in cooperation
12.06.2013The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People´s Republic of China to Slovakia, H.E. Pan Weifang accompanied by the first secretary Wang Ji and the economics and commercial counsellor Wang Jingsong visited the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra on June 11. The delegation was welcomed by Dr.h.c. prof. Ing. Peter Bielik, PhD., vice-rectors, faculty representatives and the university specialists that cooperate with Chinese universities.
As explained by Mr. Ambassador, SUA is the first university that he visited after his appointment to the office hoping that the visit will be a good opportunity to develop existing cooperation with Chinese universities and institutions.
"SUA has a very good reputation not only in Europe but also in Asia, and it is known for the wheat program developed in a partnership with Indonesia. Your University has done a great progress and I am optimistic about our future quality cooperation. We are interested in participating in the wheat program and implementing it to Chinese conditions. We would also like to cooperate in other topical areas such as food security, bio-energy, ecology, biotechnology, biochemistry, etc., "said Pan Weifang. Mr. Ambassador also said that the embassy can be a bridge between the SUA and top Chinese universities that have expressed their interest in the new cooperation.
After that the guests were informed about the structure of our university and the existing cooperation with Chinese universities and organizations which has a long tradition. Since 2002 there has been six bilateral research projects implemented at with Chinese partners focusing on research tolerance of cereals to drought and high temperatures, sensitivity of the primary processes of photosynthesis and the impacts of climate extremes on the production characteristics of strategic crops in China and Slovakia and eco-physiological factors of production of fruit and ornamental trees. In 2009, a cooperation agreement between China Hengshui Luyuan Flower and Tree Ltd. and the SUA botanical garden was signed allowing the exchange of seed and plant material, seed technology, plant protection and nutrition. Further cooperation includes an exchange of plant materials in orchards, dendrologic and floristic researc, selected assortment of fruit and ornamental trees.
Among other partners cooperating with our university we can mention the Institute of Natural Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Taia, Beijing Institute of Botany and Ecology Research Institute of Coastal Zone in Yantai ,Chinese Academy of Sciences and Research, Dry Farming Institute, Hengshui in Hebei Province.
In addition to common projects, successful publications in international journals with a high impact factor, resulting from a partnership of experts from China and SUA were presented.
To conclude the visit our guests viewed the laboratory of photosynthesis in the Department of Plant Physiology of the Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources and became acquainted with the ongoing experiments with winter and spring wheat which is implemented at the Department in collaboration with the Centre for Research Plant Production in Piešťany.