The 2nd China-Africa Green Energy Science and Technology Innovation Exchange Event Successfully Held in South Africa
To further implement the spirit of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and deepen practical cooperation between China and Africa in the field of green energy science, technology and innovation, from November 24 to 27, 2025, Qiu Liping, Vice President of Shandong Jianzhu University, led a delegation to South Africa to attend the "2nd China-Africa Green Energy Science and Technology Innovation Exchange Event" (hereinafter referred to as the "Event") and paid a working visit to relevant universities and government departments in South Africa. The Event achieved fruitful results.
Guided by the Department of Science and Technology of Shandong Province, hosted by Shandong Jianzhu University and undertaken by the University of Johannesburg, this Event focused on the theme of "Jointly Building a Green Energy Future and Empowering China-Africa Modernization Cooperation". More than 100 representatives from government science and technology departments, university scholars and enterprise experts from China, South Africa, Ghana, Botswana, Benin and other countries gathered together to conduct in-depth discussions on the development trends of green energy science and technology and the path of collaborative innovation. At the opening ceremony of the Event, Comfort Nkambule, Vice President of the South African Chemical Institute, Yang Yanming, Director of Shandong International Talent Exchange Service Center, Qiu Liping, Vice President of Shandong Jianzhu University, and Oluwafemi Adebo, Deputy Director of the Global Cooperation Office of the University of Johannesburg, delivered speeches respectively. All parties agreed that under the current complex and changing international situation, global energy security and climate governance are facing dual severe challenges. China and Africa urgently need to deepen cooperation in the fields of green energy technology research and development and industrial transformation and upgrading. This Event has built an efficient dialogue platform for the two sides to jointly respond to global climate change and promote energy structure transformation.
The Event invited internationally renowned experts to give special reports, including more than 30 authoritative experts such as Professor Neil Coville, Academician of the African Academy of Sciences, Professor Suprakas Sinha Ray, Director of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) of South Africa, Professor Wang Junfeng from Chongqing University, and Professor Sun Chenggong from the University of Birmingham in the UK. Focusing on cutting-edge fields such as catalytic technology and green fuels, solar energy conversion and photovoltaic materials, energy storage technology and advanced electrochemical materials, and energy systems and hydrogen energy technology, the experts shared the latest research results, analyzed technical development bottlenecks, and discussed the path of collaborative innovation. Through in-depth exchanges, a cooperation bridge based on technical discussions, guided by resource complementarity and guaranteed by long-term communication was successfully built.
During the visit, the delegation made a special trip to call on the Chinese Embassy in South Africa and reported to Chen Jingquan, Minister-Counselor for Science and Technology, on the recent international cooperation of Shandong Jianzhu University, especially the cooperation progress with South African universities in the field of green energy. Counselor Chen Jingquan affirmed the achievements made by the university in international cooperation and suggested that in the next step, the two sides should focus on the common concerns of China and South Africa in the field of green energy, fully integrate the advantages of both sides, jointly build an international scientific and technological cooperation and innovation platform, achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, and promote China-Africa scientific and technological cooperation to a higher level.
The delegation was invited to attend the South African Science Forum. The "China-Africa Partnership Research Institute" of our university was awarded the 2025 Representative Achievement of China-South Africa Innovation Cooperation for its solid achievements in the field of green energy cooperation. At the same time, the delegation held discussions and exchanges with Suprakas Sinha Ray, Director of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) of South Africa, Professor Neil Coville, Academician of the African Academy of Sciences, and Professor Alta van der Merwe, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Information Technology of the University of Pretoria, on issues such as scientific research cooperation, teacher-student exchange visits, and joint application of international cooperation projects, and reached a number of preliminary cooperation intentions. In addition, the delegation visited key laboratories such as the Catalysis and Energy Research Center of the University of South Africa and the School of Chemistry of the University of Johannesburg on the spot, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent development of substantive scientific research cooperation.
This trip to South Africa is not only an important practice of Shandong Jianzhu University in implementing the Ten China-Africa Action Partnership Programs and deepening China-Africa scientific and technological innovation cooperation, but also a key step for China and Africa in the field of green energy to move from "academic dialogue" to "practical cooperation". The cooperation consensus reached, the exchange mechanism established and the cooperation foundation consolidated in the Event have laid a solid foundation for the subsequent cooperation between the two sides. Taking this as an opportunity, the university will continue to rely on its disciplinary advantages and international platforms, transform the achievements of this Event into long-term cooperation momentum, focus on key directions such as hydrogen energy, solar energy, energy storage technology and green fuels, deepen collaborative innovation with African partners, and jointly promote the research, development, application and promotion of green and low-carbon technologies. This will not only inject new vitality into the construction of China-Africa green energy innovation, but also contribute the wisdom and strength of Shandong Jianzhu University to the high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road" by China and Africa and the promotion of global sustainable development.
Relevant comrades from the Science and Technology Department and the School of Thermal Energy Engineering accompanied the visit and participated in the above-mentioned activities.
（Note: The content related to the images in the original text is not translated as the specific and clear information of the images cannot be identified.）
