On May 22, 2026, the 2026 Silk Road International Conference on the Cooperation and Integration of Industry, Education, Research and Application opened in Xi’an. More than 350 participants including academicians, entrepreneurs and university representatives from China, Russia, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and other countries attended the conference.
Yang Xiao, Vice Chairman of Board of Trustees, was present at the opening ceremony. On behalf of Northwestern Polytechnical University（NPU）, he signed a Memorandum of Understanding with University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil.
On May 26, 2026, the Aeronautics and Astronautics Symposium of the 2026 Silk Road International Conference on the Cooperation and Integration of Industry, Education, Research and Application was successfully held in Xi'an. The symposium was organized by the Center for School Development and Planing of the Ministry of Education, and hosted by NPU (the “Belt and Road” Aerospace Innovation Alliance). More than 100 experts and scholars from Brazil, Turkey, Hong Kong, China, and other countries and regions participated in the event.
Jiang Dehua, Minister Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Brazil, delivered remarks via video link. Chen Jun, Deputy Director of the Office of International Cooperation, and Professor He Hanwei from the School of Aeronautics co-hosted the conference.
Chen Jun extended a warm welcome to all participating experts and scholars on behalf of NPU. With the careful guidance and strong support from the Center for School Development and Planing of the Ministry of Education and the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Education, NPU as hosted this conference for seven consecutive years.
Centering on practical demands such as industrial innovation and the development of "Double First-Class" disciplines, all participants have precisely connected scientific and technological resources as well as talent resources from both China and abroad. This has greatly advanced in-depth cooperation in talent cultivation, scientific research and achievement commercialization in the aeronautics and astronautics sector among countries and regions along the Silk Road. A pioneering platform or industry, education, research and application cooperation in aeronautics and astronautics has taken initial shape, generating new momentum for open regional education, science and technology worldwide.
On behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Brazil, Jiang Dehua offered sincere congratulations on the convening of the conference. He stated that China and Brazil have actively aligned the Belt and Road Initiative with Brazil’s key development strategies. For a long time, China-Brazil scientific and technological cooperation has stood as a model of South-South cooperation. Chinese universities represented by NPU maintain frequent exchanges and deepening practical cooperation with prestigious Brazilian higher education institutions. The Chinese Embassy in Brazil will continue to support more pragmatic cooperation between universities and research institutes of the two countries in scientific research, talent cultivation and academic exchanges.
Experts and scholars from universities including the State University of Campinas (Brazil), Istanbul Technical University (Turkey), Hong Kong Polytechnic University (China) and Northwestern Polytechnical University (China) delivered academic presentations. They conducted in-depth exchanges centering on the international cutting-edge advances and industrial development trends in the aerospace field. Covering multiple research areas such as new-generation fuel cells, aircraft design, aero-engines, rocket engines, as well as aerospace education and capacity building, they discussed ways to further deepen the integration of industry, education, research, and application. These exchanges has effectively boosted and underpinned the steady advancement of international industry–education–research–application cooperation in aerospace.
A full range of events under the Aeronautics and Astronautics Symposium of the 2026 Silk Road International Conference on the Cooperation and Integration of Industry, Education, Research and Application were successfully held, further deepening academic exchanges and pragmatic cooperation in the aerospace sector at home and abroad.
Through a series of high-level dialogues and interactive sessions, the conference continuously expanded the depth and scope of industry–education–research–application cooperation. It pooled efforts to optimize major innovation platforms, cultivate top-tier innovation teams and advance joint research on key scientific and technological problems. The conference also helped deliver more fruitful outcomes from international industry-university-research collaboration, built a high-quality platform and injected robust momentum for the integrated development of talent training, scientific research collaboration and people-to-people exchanges among relevant countries.
(Text: Li Yuyao
Photos: Zhang Yu
First Review: Li Yuyao
Second Review: Zhang Yu
Third Review: Chen Jun
Translators: Lu Ruijin, Mei Leyun)
(Source: https://en.nwpu.edu.cn/info/1175/11033.htm)
