Partnership between CNI and Chinese educational institution opens doors for innovation

Taking advantage of the official visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Brazil, the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) and the Chinese public university Tsinghua signed, this Wednesday (20), a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that establishes the basis for cooperation in innovation and technology. Negotiations for the partnership began in June this year, in Beijing, during a Brazilian government mission to China that was accompanied by Brazilian industry.

The MOU aims to strengthen international cooperation between CNI, the Chinese university and other public and private institutions. The initiative also seeks to expand collaboration between the institutions to promote mobility and training programs for specialists and students, connect technology and innovation ecosystems, conduct joint research, create an environment conducive to business development and jointly develop new technological and commercial routes.

“The future agenda between Brazil and China must be based on issues such as technological innovation, to boost this economic and commercial partnership that has lasted 50 years. We have a common interest in deepening academic, technological, innovation and business development to strengthen international cooperation, and the memorandum with Tsinghua corroborates this mobilization of efforts,” said CNI president Ricardo Alban.

Tsinghua is considered the best university in Asia and the 12th in the global scenario. The president of the institution's board, Professor Qiu Yong, said that China and Brazil have great potential for cooperation and broad common interests, which include the economy, technology and sustainable development, among other areas, and that the partnership will contribute to expanding this collaboration and promoting further development.

“This memorandum of understanding will enable fruitful cooperation to work together to improve and deepen the relationship in the area of ​​innovation, to leverage the economy, education, culture and technology of both countries. We hope that this MOU will contribute and be a catalyst for this chemistry between the two countries,” said the professor. 

The memorandum of understanding between the institutions is valid for five years and may be extended. The Integrated Manufacturing and Technology Campus (SENAI CIMATEC), located in Bahia, was chosen to lead the first technical cooperation project to be developed with Tsinghua.

Institutions discussed opportunities for China-Brazil Cooperation

After signing the MOU, representatives from CNI and Tsinghua held a debate on "Global Development with Mutual Learning among Civilizations: Emerging Opportunities for China-Brazil Cooperation", in which they discussed challenges and trends of the new industrial era in the context of the major transformations underway in China, in addition to the implementation of the New Industry Brazil (NIB) program, supported by CNI.

The following people participated in the debate: CNI’s Director of Industrial Development, Rafael Lucchesi; Tsinghua’s School of Economics and Management, LI Jizhen; CNI’s Director of Technology and Innovation, Jefferson Gomes; Tsinghua’s Center for Latin American Studies, Professor Chen Taotao; SENAI CIMATEC’s Director of Innovation and Technology, Leone Andrade; CNI’s Superintendent of International Relations, Frederico Lamego; Tsinghua’s Club of Entrepreneurs and Executives, NI Zhengdong; CNI’s Superintendent of Industry Observatory, Márcio Guerra; and Professor LIU Dehua, Director of the China-Brazil Center for Climate Change and Energy Technology Innovation (CCBCE) and the China-Latin America Joint Laboratory for Clean Energy and Climate Change (CLACE).

In addition to other representatives from the Chinese university, the meeting was attended by the general director of SENAI, Gustavo Leal; the director of Institutional Relations at CNI, Roberto Muniz; the superintendent of Technology and Innovation at SENAI, Roberto de Medeiros; and the superintendent of Industrial Policy at CNI, Fabrício Silveira.