CAE President Zhou Ji, together with Vice President Xie Kechang, met with Ms. Catherine Bréchignac, Ambassador for Science, Technology and Innovation, France, as well as Mr. François Guinot, Honorary President of National academy of technologies of  France (NATF) in Beijing on February 20, 2012.

Zhou briefed on the development of CAE, first of all, pointing out that China and France had enjoyed long-standing friendship and cooperative relationship in the fields of science and technology. On the one side, France enjoys advanced technologies in various aspects, and its innovative researches prove to be very fruitful. On the other side, the Chinese Academy of Engineering, as China’s think-tank in engineering science and technology, is playing an increasingly important role in promoting scientific decisions for the government, enhancing engineering technology advances for the nation, as well as formulating national industrial development strategy. Xie said that, CAE hoped to join hands with its French counterpart, carrying out cooperation of a higher level and on a broader scope, taking into consideration the significant positions both China and France hold in the engineering science and technology world.

Ms. Catherine Bréchignac said she was quite honoured to come to CAE for a visit. She also spoke highly of achievements made in the process of previous exchanges and cooperative efforts between both sides. Mr. François Guinot referred to several facts of crucial importance in past cooperation, including the signing of Agreement on Technical Cooperation between NATF and CAE in Paris, France, in 2005; also the signing of Cooperation Agreement Appendix between both sides in Beijing in 2006; as well as the signing of the Letter of Intent for Mentougou Ecological City Development between NATF and Science and Technology Committee of Mentougou District, Beijing Municipal People’s Government. He also pointed out that the common appeals of both NATF and CAE would help to guarantee effective exchanges and friendly cooperation in science and technology fields between both sides in the future. (By Li Yan, March 2012; translated by Liu Chang)