On August 12th, the MOU signing ceremony for USTB-POSCO Technology Cooperation was held at USTB. Both Mr. Lee Duk-Lak, Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Technical Research Laboratories of POSCO, and Mr. Choun Si-Youl, Senior Vice President and Head of Steel Production and Technology Strategy Office of POSCO attended the signing ceremony online. Mr. Oh Hyoung-Soo, Vice President of POSCO & Chairman ofPOSCO-China, Prof. YANG Renshu, President of USTB, and Prof. WU Aixiang, Vice President of USTB attended the signing ceremony.

On behalf of USTB, Prof. YANG Renshu extended a warm welcome to the delegation from POSCO and POSCO-China. He said that collaboration between USTB and POSCO was an opportunity to pursue innovative development in the steel industry for both China and South Korea. He hoped that the two sides could leverage their advantages to carry out high-level and substantial cooperation, together promoting the common development of the two nations’ steel industries, and creating a new chapter in international collaboration.

Mr. Duk-Lak Lee gave a brief introduction of POSCO. He said that it was a great honor to sign the cooperation agreement with USTB. He hoped that the two sides could deliver win-win results on a mutually beneficial basis. Through close exchanges and coordinated cooperation, the two sides would boost the iron and steel industriesof China and South Korea and develop the world's most advanced technologies in fuel and environmental protection.

Since its entry into China in the 1990s, POSCO has undertook extensive cooperation with Chinese steel giants including Baosteel and the HBIS Group, said Mr. Oh Hyoung-Soo. However, this would be the first time for POSCO to sign a technical cooperation agreement with a university. He expressed optimism that the technical strength of POSCO and the excellent scientific research of USTB would work together to lead the global steel industry into the future. Furthermore,he hoped that POSCO-China would serve as a bridge for the cooperation between POSCO and USTB.

Prof. ZHANG Jianliang, Chairof the School of Metallurgical and Ecological Engineering, briefly introduced the disciplines of iron and steel metallurgy at USTB. After 68 years of development, USTB’s metallurgy disciplineshave been at the forefront of the academic world and made great contributions to China's iron and steel industry. This rapid development has been due to USTB’s ongoing pursual of international exchange and cooperation. Therefore, the signing of the cooperation agreement is expected to lay a solid foundation for the development of China and South Korea's iron and steel industry.

Prof. WU Aixiang and Prof. ZHANG Jianliang, on behalf of USTB, as well as Mr. Duk-Lak Lee and Mr. Choun Si-Youl, on behalf of POSCO, signed the cooperation agreement. Prof YANG Renshu and Mr. Oh Hyoung-Soo exchanged souvenirs on behalf of their respectiveinstitutions.

The metallurgical engineering department of USTB enjoys a long history and excellent achievements. It was recognized as having an A+ rating in the latest national discipline evaluation by the Ministry of Education and was designated as a discipline to undertake world-class discipline construction. For three consecutive years, it has been ranked No.1 in the ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects. Before the signing of the MOU, the School of Metallurgical and Ecological Engineering at USTB had frequent interactions with POSCO, and so has a good foundation for cooperation in iron-making and environmental protection with the company.

This cooperation combines an international iron and steel giant and a well-known university in the field of scientific research. In the future, the two sides will establish a stable exchange mechanism for close cooperation in efficient resource utilization, intelligent metallurgical manufacturing, green environmental protection technology and other key fields. The cooperation agreement will seek to deliver tangible results, and contribute to economic development and innovation in the iron and steel industriesof China and South Korea.

Founded in 1968, POSCO is one of the world's largest steel manufacturers and one of the top 10 Korean consortia. It produces over 40 million tons of steel in more than 60 countries a year, including hot rolled coil, steel plate, steel bars, cold rolled steel plate, conductive steel sheet and stainless steel products. It is regarded as the world's most competitive steel manufacturer by Morgan Stanley.