On the morning of July 8, a delegation led by Hongbiao Dong, Chairman of Association of British Chinese Professors and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, visited Henan University. President Suojiang Zhang hosted a discussion with Hongbiao Dong and his delegation at the Zhengzhou campus. The meeting was attended by Xuebo Chen, the Academic Vice President, and heads of relevant functional departments and colleges. The session was chaired by Qiuye Li, Deputy Director of International Affairs Office.

Hongbiao Dong introduced the basic information about the Association of British Chinese Professors. He stated that the Association is a non-profit, independent academic organization founded by Chinese professors in the UK, with members distributed across over a hundred universities and research institutions in Britain. It has established close academic cooperation relationships with multiple Chinese universities, aiming to promote comprehensive exchanges and cooperation between China and the UK in various disciplines. Through this discussion, he hoped to establish a long-term cooperation mechanism with Henan University, engaging in practical collaboration in areas such as joint education programs, joint training of postgraduates, faculty and student exchanges and talent recruitment.

Suojiang Zhang shared the status and development strategies of Henan University’s “Double First-Class” initiative and “Double Carrier” construction, integrating the laws of economic and social development with the situation of higher education. He explained the significant importance of “expanding international cooperation” for building a research-oriented, comprehensive, international first-class university. He pointed out that to accelerate development, the university must actively cooperate with other universities both domestically and internationally, bringing together talents from around the world. He hoped that this discussion would mark the beginning of focused collaboration in key disciplines, quickly establishing academic connections between scholars from both sides, and gradually promoting cooperation and exchanges in high-level talent recruitment, joint education programs, joint training of postgraduates, and joint research, thereby jointly advancing the construction of related disciplines and fostering Sino-UK exchanges in higher education and science and technology.

During the meeting, both parties engaged in an in-depth discussion on future areas and forms of cooperation.