5/9/2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Fourteen Chinese-American faculty members from Michigan State University will travel to China next week to develop a scientific exchange with their counterparts at Lanzhou University and Gansu Agricultural University.
Joining the delegation to Lanzhou, the capital of China's Gansu province, will be a 12-member group representing the city of Lansing, the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Lansing Sister Cities Commission, which will sign a formal sister city agreement with Lanzhou. David Wiener, executive assistant to Lansing Mayor David Hollister, will lead the city's delegation.
The faculty delegation represents seven of MSU's colleges and 14 departments. Individual faculty members have traveled to China many times, but this is the first time that Chinese-American faculty members have traveled as a group to China to promote scientific exchange and collaborative research with colleagues at Chinese universities. The trip is jointly supported by the Chinese Ministry of Education, MSU's International Studies and Programs and the Office of Research and Graduate Studies.
"After two decades of economic reform in the eastern part of the country, China has turned its attention to the less-developed western region," said Weijun Zhao, China Programs Coordinator of the Institute of International Agriculture and organizer of the trip. "This strategic plan includes the development of education, science and technology in the region.
"We are confident that, in partnership with our Chinese counterparts, we will be well-positioned to compete for joint research projects in areas of common interest as the Chinese government allocates more resources to the region," Zhao said.
Lansing and Lanzhou established a friendship city relationship in 1995. Lansing officials consider the MSU mission to be an integral part of a plan to build economic and cultural exchanges between the sister cities.
On their trip the faculty members will give lectures, visit laboratories and develop collaborative research projects. They also will meet with the vice minister of China's Education Ministry and help Lansing officials cultivate relationships with their Lanzhou counterparts.
"China is important to MSU's future," said John Hudzik, dean of MSU's International Studies and Programs. "This project has good possibilities for strengthening our linkages with Chinese education and research institutions."