On October 26 - November 2, Vladimir Vasilyev, Executive Director of the Northern Forum, was in China at the invitation of the Northern Forum Goodwill Ambassador, Professor Guo Peiqing.
Vladimir Vasiliev gave a lecture on international cooperation in the Arctic for master's and PhD students of the Polar Center of the Ocean University of China (Qingdao, Shandong Province).
During the visit, cooperation issues were discussed at the university. Next year it is planned to hold the Arctic School in the Republic of Karelia and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The guys from the Polar Center are ready to cooperate both with the Northern Youth Forum and within the framework of the Russian-Asian Consortium for Arctic Research (RACAR). All of them are preparing their dissertations on Arctic disciplines and there is confidence in the emergence of interesting youth projects.
Prof. Guo also suggested holding annual Northern Forum-China forums to expand the partnership. Similar ideas have been voiced in Beijing and Harbin, which will greatly assist in strengthening cooperation with Asian countries.
The organization of the lecture and all the discussions in Qingdao was coordinated by doctoral student Gao Fei and master's student Zhan Wang. As part of her research, Zhan Wang translates a significant amount of foreign literature into Chinese.
We were pleased to hear from her that she has started to translate the Northern Forum website and is ready to provide a full translation of all the materials on the website, which will make it possible to familiarize all interested people in China and beyond with the activities of the Northern Forum.
A meeting was held in Beijing with colleagues from the Environmental Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Professors Mr. Xiaoshan Zhang and Ms. Zhangwei Wang. In May this year a protocol was signed on the implementation of the project on mercury transfer with migratory birds, and this time they discussed not only the issues of promotion and development of the project, but colleagues expressed the wish to hold an extended event in Russia.
We have pre-agreed to organize an event on "Climate Change and Biodiversity" to discuss a wider range of areas for cooperation. This center is one of the most authoritative scientific organizations in this field and their proposal sounds inspiring.
In Harbin, the Executive Director of the Northern Forum was hosted by Mr. Xue Xingfa, Chairman of the Board of Directors of one of the largest companies, XY Group. The company operates in 22 countries and is closely monitored by President Xi Jinping. The meeting was organized by Mr. Jiao Jian, the company's deputy general manager for foreign economic cooperation.
They discussed a wide range of issues, and agreed to organize broad consultations at the initial stage of interaction. Mr. Xinfa suggested organizing a major forum and this is where Prof. Guo's idea practically took real shape: we will prepare the Northern Forum-China Forum next year. The company has every opportunity to do so, and the Northern Forum is expected to ensure the participation of representative delegations from the regions. Mr. Jiao Jian will also participate in the Northern Forum delegation at the UN Climate Conference in Dubai.