Source: Office of International Cooperation & Exchange
Written by: Office of International Cooperation & Exchange
Proofread by: Yang Dan
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

On the afternoon of November 27, Mr. Alain Galliano, Vice President of the Greater Lyon and Deputy Mayor of Lyon, visited SYSU, accompanied by Mr. Guillaume Arnould, Project Manager-International Partnerships and European Affairs, International Relations Office, Greater Lyon, and Ms. Candice du Chayla, Responsible for the Project of New Sino-French Institute of Lyon. Prof. Zhu Xiping, Vice President of SYSU, met with the guests. Ms. Gu Wenli, Deputy Director of Office of International Cooperation & Exchange, was also present at the meeting.

Prof. Zhu Xiping extended a warm welcome to Mr. Alain Galliano, and introduced SYSU’s collaborations with French universities and institutions, especially the Sino-French Institute of Nuclear Engineering and Technology at SYSU. He said that SYSU would take the opportunity of cooperation in the New Sino-French Institute of Lyon to deepen bilateral cooperation and exchange, and promote the communication and cooperation between the two sister cities of Guangzhou and Lyon.

Mr. Alain Galliano expressed his excitement for coming back to SYSU and recalled his experience of teaching in SYSU over a decade ago. He said that Lyon government would provide support for the construction of the New Sino-French Institute of Lyon, and hoped that SYSU could use its strengths and influence to assist in the construction of the platform.

During the meeting, the two sides also discussed concrete issues on the construction of the New Sino-French Institute of Lyon.

L'Institut Franco-Chinois de Lyon (the Sino-French Institute of Lyon) was located in the Fort Saint-Irénée from 1921 to 1946, hosting 473 Chinese students who went there to study. It played a unique role in the educational and cultural exchanges between China and France. In March 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony of The Centre to Promote Relations Between China, Lyon and the Museum of the Sino-French Institute of Lyon, ushering a new chapter for the construction of the New Sino-French Institute of Lyon.