To promote exchange and cooperation between the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) and the Russian Academy of Sciences as well as the science & technology and education communities in Ukraine, CAE Vice President Xie Kechang led a 7-people delegation to Russian and Ukraine from October 14 to 24, 2012. Both countries have considerable impacts on the world’s energy pattern, enjoy rich experiences in coal development and utilization, and are strong in science and technology. 

While in Ukraine, the delegation visited Ukraine’s largest coal basin, Donets Basin (Donbass) located in Donetsk Oblast, and the National Technical University (Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute), who also carried out discussions with the representative office of SANYHE located in there as to issues like coal development, coal science and technology, and coal machine equipment demands in Ukraine. 

While in Russia, the delegation visited the Russian Research Institute for Applied Chemistry located in St. Petersburg, and conducted discussions with Krapivin, Vice Chairman of the Institute, as well as research personnel specialized in coal chemical industry and chemical catalysts from St. Petersburg Industrial University as to issues such as coal pyrolysis upgrading and chemical residues management. The delegation also made field trips to VOSTSIBUGOL LLC, Cheremkhovskiy coal-basin, and the Irkutsk Hydroelectric Power Station, conducting surveys on green, safe and efficient coal development, ecological environmental restoration, as well as coal washing, selection and processing in the East Siberian area. The delegation also visited the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Moscow University. Vice President Xie talked with Mesyats, Vice President of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Acad. Valery V. Lunin, Dean of Faculty of Chemistry, MSU on behalf of CAE, on future cooperation between both Academies. 

In terms of cooperation between CAE and the Russian Academy of Sciences, both sides signed Strategic Cooperation Agreement in 2004. Mesyats, Vice President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, spoke highly of the role and function of CAE at meetings this time, holding that CAE could offer a lot for its Russian counterpart to learn. Both CAE and RAS were willing to renew the strategic cooperation agreement. At the same time, in order to substantially promote strategic collaboration, both sides agreed to take bilateral technical exchanges in coal chemical industry as the starting point, in search for more and deeper understanding of each other as well as more specific tasks for cooperation. Therefore, it was roughly decided that “Sino-Russia Seminar on Coal Chemical Industry” be held in Kemerovskaya oblast, Russia, in the fall of 2013.

The mission was successfully accomplished with the support from the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine, the Chinese Embassy in Russia, Chinese Consulate General in St Petersburg and Chinese Consulate General in Irkutsk. Vice President Xie carried out in-depth discussions with Ambassador Li Hui, Chargés d'affaires of Chinese Embassy Chen Daiwe, Consul General Xie Xiaoyong and Consul General Guo Zhijun on the survey and study trip. (By Zhu Yu, November 2012; translated by Liu Chang)