Tel Aviv University and China’s Tsinghua University Sign Landmark Agreement

The XIN Center, a joint scientific initiative between the two universities, was inaugurated in the presence of the Chinese Vice Premier
20 May 2014
From left: TAU President Prof. Joseph Klafter, Chinese Vice Premier Madame Liu Yandong, and Tsinghua University President Prof. Chen Jining

In a milestone for Sino-Israeli academic and cultural relations, TAU and the top-ranked Tsinghua University in Beijing  signed an agreement to establish the XIN Center.  

 

Meaning “new” in Chinese, the XIN Center, inaugurated in a ceremony on TAU’s campus attended by Madame Liu Yandong, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China, will be established on both university campuses, and is dedicated to training a new generation of scientific innovators from both countries to be known as XIN Fellows. The partner institutions have committed to jointly investing $300 million over the coming years, and to focus on areas such as nanotechnology, renewable energy and biotech.

 

Addressing the inauguration attendees, TAU President Joseph Klafter expressed his immense pride in “officially launching the largest and most ambitious joint research and teaching project ever to be established between Israel and China,” saying that “in founding the XIN Center, we are building an interconnected future, one full of infinite possibilities and that is firmly anchored in shared values.”

 

From left: TAU President Prof. Joseph Klafter, Chinese Vice Premier Madame Liu Yandong, and Tsinghua University President Prof. Chen Jining

 

President of Tsinghua University, Prof. Chen Jining, said that, in a world where “higher education across the globe is changing rapidly… universities are exerting new impact on the economy and society.” As such, “the XIN Center will… tackle the global challenges of environment, energy and social development, break the barriers between the traditional disciplines and create new models of innovation.” 

 

In a congratulatory letter sent directly to the signing ceremony by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he wrote that “the XIN Center’s work will help ensure that the peoples of both countries will enjoy a more productive, healthy and prosperous future,” adding that “this agreement represents our shared appreciation for scholarship and desire to advance scientific research, technology, and above all, innovation”

 

Participating in the ceremony were Mr. Yuan Guiren, Chinese Minister of Education, Madame Li Bin, Chinese Minister of Health, Madame Gao Yanping, Chinese Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Wang Chao, Deputy Chinese Foreign Minister, and Mr. Wang Weizhong, Chinese Deputy Minister of Science, as well as as well as Tsinghua’s Prof. Zheng Quanshui, XIN Founding Director, and TAU’s Prof. Yael Hanein, XIN Founding Co-Director. Also attending were leaders from Tsinghua University and Tel Aviv University.

 

For more on the landmark XIN Center, visit http://nano.tau.ac.il/xin/

 

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