Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, Professor Alison Richard makes a speech during her visit to China. Courtesy of the Cultural and Education Section, British Embassy.(Photo: China Daily) Photo Gallery>>>

   BEIJING, Oct.13 -- To celebrate and strengthen the relationship with China, Professor Alison Richard, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, has just concluded a four-day trip to China to discuss several topics with her Chinese partners.

    The partnership between China and the University of Cambridge dates back to 1888 when Cambridge became the first British university to appoint a professor of Chinese.

    Her visit also marks the start of a series of celebrations of Cambridge's 800th anniversary next year.

    "Since the start of this long-standing partnership, many Cambridge scholars have taken a keen interest in China's development. They have contributed significantly to promoting understanding between China and the West," says Richard.

    One of them is Joseph Needham (better known by his Chinese name Li Yue'se), author of Science and Civilization in China.

    "Two weeks ago, I was present on the occasion of the appointment of the Joseph Needham Professorship of Chinese History, Science and Civilization," she says. "Joseph Needham opened Chinese insight into the world, and also, helped the world get to know about China."

    She adds that the relationship between China and Cambridge is two-way and has been increasing rapidly. There are currently more than 130 official academic, industrial and government partnerships between the two, spanning many disciplines such as language teaching, architecture, math, materials sciences, the economy, politics and nano science.

    Richard says her trip has further tightened Cambridge's links with the academia, industry, business and government in China.

    Her delegation has signed an historic memorandum of understanding for future collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and another with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

    Both agreements focus on areas of common global challenges especially relating to climate change, sustainable development, good governance, renewable energy and infectious and degenerative disease.

    "We appreciate and are impressed by how the Olympic Games was organized and managed in Beijing, particularly, the use of innovative technologies to provide clean energy and thereby help foster a more sustainable planet," she says.

    During her four-day stay in China, Professor Richard visited Tsinghua University, which has reached a significant collaborative research agreement on low carbon emissions with Cambridge.

    "Our partnership with China goes from past to present, and to the future," she says.

    Her visit also coincided with Roger Tsien, a Chinese-American Cambridge graduate, winning the Nobel Prize for Chemistry with other two scientists. The university already has 83 Nobel Prize winners to its credit.

    Richard reveals that there are 719 Chinese students at Cambridge, making up the largest national group in the international student body (13 percent). Among them is Jin Yong (Louis Cha), the titan of martial arts fiction, who is in his 80s and is pursuing a PhD.

    "In summer, we put a stone of white Beijing marble on campus, on which are carved the first and last lines of Xu Zhimo's poem 'Farewell to Cambridge Again'," she says.

    Zhimo Xu, one of the Chinese romantic poets, once had lived and studied at Cambridge for two years in the 1920s. Many Chinese got to know Cambridge and began to dream of studying there through his widely--read poem.

    "Xu would be surprised if he knew that there are more than 700 students from the Chinese mainland now at Cambridge. The number has doubled over the past five years," says Richard.

    "A large proportion of them are financially supported by scholarships from the Cambridge Overseas Trust, Gates Cambridge Scholarships and other awards.

    "And the interest in learning Chinese has also exploded at Cambridge these years, not only among students but also young scientists and engineers."

    (Source: China Daily)