European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso Visits Tsinghua University

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso Visits Tsinghua University

By Li Han, Ashwini

European Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso visited Tsinghua University on April 30. During his visit he attended the opening ceremony of the Europe-China Clean Energy Center held in the Sino-Italian Environment & Energy Building and then delivered a speech on EU-China relations at Tsinghua s Main Building.

Prior to the opening ceremony, Mr. Zhang Guobao, Director of the National Energy Administration and Vice-Minister of the State Development and Reform Commission, met with Mr. Barroso. Mr. Oettinger, the Commissioner for Energy; Ms. Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action; Mr. Serge ABOU, EU Ambassador to China; Professor Profumo, President of Politecnico Di Torino of Italy; Mr. Cui Tiankai, Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs; Mr. Song Zhe, Ambassador of Chinese Commission to the European Union (EU); and Tsinghua Vice President Yuan Si also participated in the short talk.

During the ceremony, hosted by Tsinghua Vice President Yuan, Ms. Prestigiacomo, Italian Minister for the Environment, Land and Sea, Mr. Oettinger, Professor Profumo, Mr. Zhang Guobao, and Mr. Barroso all spoke respectively, extending their congratulations to the Center. Mr. Barroso and Mr. Zhang Guobao together unveiled the plaque of the Center.

After the ceremony Tsinghua University President Gu Binglin had a discussion with Mr. Barroso.

Mr. Barroso later delivered a speech on peoples of yesterday, peoples of tomorrow: 35 years of EU-China relations as part of the Tsinghua Global Vision Lectures Series held in Tsinghua s Main Building.

President Barroso started his speech by saying Tsinghua symbolizes the cutting-edge of China's education and scientific progress. He said his visit to China comes at an important time, for not only does it mark 35 years of EU-China Relations, but it also coincides with the Shanghai Expo, which will be the first to have an intercultural exhibition representing the EU outside of Europe.

He expressed his hopes that further cooperation between the EU and China will continue to be strong for another 35 years.

Specifically, he said he hoped that the EU and China could further enhance cooperation to address global challenges, including the current economic crisis, climate change, and renewable energy.

Tsinghua University Vice President Yuan Si hosted the speech.

Mr. Barroso answered questions from Tsinghua students after his speech.

(Photo by Guo Haijun)