On December 22, 2019, the opening ceremony for the “China Intelligent Bio-agriculture Institute Beijing International” (CIB Institute), co-sponsored by USTB and the Pinggu district government, was held at the Pinggu Agricultural Sci-Tech Innovation DemonstrationZone . The ceremony was attended by Ms. CHEN Bei, Deputy-Secretary General of the Beijing Municipal Government, Mr. WANG Chengguo, Secretary of the Pinggu District Committee of Beijing Municipality, Mr. WU Guilong, Chancellor of USTB, as well as other dignitaries and guests.

In his speech Mr. WU spoke of how the CIB Institute would serve as an important base for USTB’s research in bio-agriculture. He detailed how in recent years USTB had undertaken work in its “double first class” development and actively explored the boundaries of bio-agricultural research. Since 2016, USTB has established the Biology and Agriculture Research Center, the Beijing Institute of Precision Medicine and Health, the Pinggu Institute of Biological Agriculture, as well as other institutions, and has engaged in extensive personnel training and research in the relevant fields. The launch of the new CIB Institute will serve to advance USTB’s research efforts, playing to the university’s strengths, and serve both Beijing and the nation. For the future USTB will strongly support the CIB Institute and it’s integration into various levels of local, national, and international research efforts.

It was announced that Prof. ZANG Yong, Vice President of USTB, will be the first chairman of the CIB Institute; Prof. ZHAI Huqu, former President of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and President of the China Association for the Promotion of International Agricultural Cooperation, was named honorary Dean of the CIB Institute; Prof. ZHAO Chunjiang, member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering,will chair the first academic committee; and Prof. WANG Xiangyuan, USTB, will serve as the first Dean of the CIB Institute.

The CIB Institute is primarily sponsored by USTB in association with other research groups and local governmental departments in Beijing and is part of the first batch of research institutes to settle in the Pinggu Agricultural Sci-Tech Innovation DemonstrationZone. The focus of the CIB Institute will be in the field of bio-agriculture, concentrating on biotechnology, smart agriculture, and agro-food health. The aim is to attract 50-100 top international talents to make the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region a leading platform for global bio-agricultural research.

The ceremony was attended by more than 100 participants from local governmental departments, enterprises, industries, and USTB. The event was covered by more than 10 mainstream media outlets including China Daily, China Beijing TV Station, and others.