COVID-19 - Chinese partner universities express their support

The confinement, the closing of schools, universities and borders, by forcing us to redefine the way we work and build relationships, paradoxically brings us closer to our partners and friends. Two months ago, we expressed our support for our Chinese partners, then confronted with the COVID-19 epidemic. The latter, in turn, expressed theirs as soon as the crisis started in France, by letters sent to Mr. Christian Lerminiaux, president of ParisTech. We would like to thank them for their friendship and solidarity.

Feedback, educational innovations, mutual support for students and staff, research: the fight against the pandemic calls for enhanced cooperation. All our partners emphasize it in their letters. Present in China for more than twenty years, ParisTech has long-standing partners there, with which many forms of cooperation have been developed: recruitment in engineering or doctoral cycles, double degrees, research, Franco-Chinese institutes. More than ever, we are therefore dependent on each other to ensure the safety of our students and our staff, and to guarantee that these forms of cooperation are maintained in good conditions despite the circumstances.

Like them, we hope that this crisis will soon be behind us, and that we can see each other again, strengthen our cooperation, develop new projects.

“We are standing in solidarity with the people and university partners which might also suffer from this epidemic. […]
ParisTech is one of the most important partners of CAU. Difficult times call for bilateral support between friends. We are ready to provide any assistants to jointly work through this tough situation. We extend our best wishes for good health to you and your university community.”
Prof. SUN Qixin, President, China Agricultural University

“We know exactly what you are suffering now and would like to share with you our confidence that the current pandemic can be mitigated and eventually controlled with right measures, concerted efforts, and more importantly, global collaboration. We have faith that as the world heeds from this crisis, remedy shall soon be devised. And we will soon be able to welcome you, your colleagues and students, to our campus again, and vice versa! We truly wish that the cooperation between us would be even stronger in the future.”
Prof. CHEN Zhimin, Vice President of International Affairs, Fudan University

“[…] if there is anything we can do to help, please do not hesitate to let me know. My colleagues and I would be honored and proud to stand by our friends in this crisis.
ParisTech is always one of our most important strategic partners and we are determined to build on the momentum already achieved. We strive to tackle the pandemic with you in a concerted manner, and I am confident a complete global victory is not far away under joint efforts.”
Professor LI Yuanyuan, President, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

“During this difficult time, we stand in solidarity with you and wish you strength in coping with the epidemic. I hope that the COVID-19 virus can be contained soon so that the situation can get back to normal for all citizens.”
Prof. CHEN Fadi, President, Nanjing Agricultural University

“On behalf of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, apart from our sincere thanks again for your prayers and thoughts with us when we were facing the sudden outbreak, I would like to convey our solidarity to you and pass on our support for your entire university community at such a very difficult time. As we are all taking the responsibility to prevent disruption to students’ study by offering on-line courses, I believe that collaboration on innovative online education leading to the re-shaping and reforming of modern higher education would be out common goal to transform the current challenges into huge opportunities for advancement in academic practices.”
Prof. LIN Zhongqin, President, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

“[…] the epidemic is now spreading in France. I hope you, your family and all our friends at ParisTech will be safe and sound in these hard times. I believe that the hardship will soon be overcome as France, like China,is a nation that is proud of its wisdom and bravery. Please feel free to tell us if you think there is anything we can do to provide help.
I’d also like to send my special gratitude to ParisTech Office in China, the schools of ParisTech as well as my SEU colleagues. Thanks to your consistent support and painstaking work, our cooperation has made lots of achievements in the past and can still go smoothly even in these hard times.”
Prof. ZHANG Guangjun, President, Southeast University

“The friendship between ParisTech and Tongji has been tested and fortified by our fruitful collaboration over the past 20 years. Thanks to our joint efforts, plenty of successful collaborative programs have been achieved. Tongji always cherishes the partnership with ParisTech, we’re convinced to develop it to a new height.”
Prof. CHEN Jie, President, Tongji University

“We know that ParisTech is an institution prioritizing health, welfare and safety of staff and students. So we believe you have taken steps to provide a solid framework of support for them and minimize the negative impact of the disease. We are confident that with your solidarity and resolution, you will ride out COVID-19 test. We look forward to working closely with you to take our collaboration to new height when the crisis is over.”
Prof. DOU Xiangkang, President, Wuhan University

“We appreciate the efficient effort that your member schools are putting into dealing with the outbreak and the impressive contributions that your faculty members are making. […] Faced with our common challenge, we believe university partnerships can become an important source of strength.”
Prof. WU Zhaohui, President, Zhejiang University