The Launch of China-Ukraine Joint Laboratory of Material Joining and Advanced Manufacturing

　　On September 24,  The China-Ukraine Belt and Road Material Joining and Advanced Manufacturing Joint Laboratory (hereinafter referred to as the Joint Laboratory) was officially launched. At the same time, Forum on Challenges and Opportunities of International Technology Cooperation in the Post-pandemic Era was held by the China-Ukraine Institute of Welding of GDAS and the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining of Harbin Institute of Technology, during the China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair (CIEF).

　　Participants included former science and technology counsellor of China in Ukraine and Belarus, representatives from the Embassy of Ukraine to the People’s Republic of China, the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the China Association for International Science and Technology Cooperation, Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, GDAS, and Harbin Institute of Technology.

　　LI Dingqiang, vice president of GDAS, expressed that with the support and guidance of governments at all levels, the China-Ukraine Institute of Welding has made certain achievements in international scientific and technological cooperation, high-end platform construction, and key industry development, which laid a solid foundation for technological collaboration among countries along the Belt and Road. So far, GDAS has comprehensively expanded the cooperation with the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, and launched the strategic pilot project called “Multi-field Coupled Physical Model Construction and Key Technologies for Intelligent Welding”, attaching great importance to the cooperation with E.O. Paton Electric Welding Institute in Ukraine. Focusing on the huge industrial demand in Guangdong Province to the whole domestic market for new energy vehicles, shipbuilding and marine engineering, and aerospace, the project aims at improving the existing welding theory, optimizing welding quality, and upgrading the level of welding intelligence by integrating various disciplines to carry out basic and advanced research in this field.

　　DONG Chunlin, director of the China-Ukraine Institute of Welding of GDAS, said that the second batch of 19 Belt and Road joint laboratories recently have been approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology; these national innovative platforms are built for international technological cooperation, and established referring to the standard of the state key laboratories. The Joint Laboratory is supported by China-Ukraine Institute of Welding of GDAS, Harbin Institute of Technology, and E.O. Paton Electric Welding Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Under the scope of international technology cooperation between China and Ukraine, the joint laboratory will carry out key technological research in different fields including aerospace, marine engineering, energy and transportation, in response to the fact that two countries have huge demands for development in material joining and advanced manufacturing. Meanwhile, it would focus on both the frontier and basic research on material joining and advanced manufacturing to contribute to scientific theoretical innovations, and to facilitate the application of cooperation achievements in the implementation of key projects for the construction of Belt and Road. The joint laboratory will further expand the scale of international cooperation and exchanges, and become an important platform for China to share with friendly countries along the Belt and Road such as Ukraine, the technological achievements and experience in technological innovation and development.

　　Sergiy Kuzmichov, First Secretary of the Ukrainian Embassy in China, said in an interview that Ukraine and China have always attached importance to cooperation in science and high-tech technology. The Joint Research Institute has provided a model for scientific and technological cooperation in relevant fields and regions between two countries, and has enabled China-Ukraine scientific and technological cooperation to continue to achieve mutual benefits and a win-win situation.

　　Guests also discussed the development of China-Ukraine international scientific and technological cooperation under the Belt and Road initiative as well as the opportunity of the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. 

the signing ceremony