On 10 August 2018, JINR was visited by a delegation from the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE). CNNC was represented by Mr. Qian Tianlin, Director of the Department of Science and Technology, and Mr. Cai Xiaodong, Division Chief of the CNNC Department of Science and Technology. The CIAE delegation was headed by Mr. Wan Gang, President of the Chinese Institute of Atomic Energy, Mr. Yang Hongyi, Head of the Department of Reactor Engineering and Research, Zhang Xiaoqiang, Deputy Director of the Administrative Office, and Mr. Jiang Lin, Interpreter of CIAE, who accompanied the delegation.

According to the guests, this visit is directly related to the agreement on cooperation between JINR and CIAE signed in April 2018 and is aimed at determining areas of mutual scientific interest and identifying practical steps for organization of the cooperation. Before visiting JINR laboratories, Mr. Wang Gan said: “I am visiting your Institute for the first time and although I have heard a lot about JINR before, I wanted to see with my own eyes the experimental base of your Institute to better know its scientific potential. The priority areas for CIAE are nuclear physics, reactor engineering and radiochemistry. The previous visit of our colleagues was aimed at nuclear physics, now our interests are more focused on reactor technologies.”

The Chinese delegation started the acquaintance with the JINR scientific infrastructure in the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions with the DC-280 and MC-400 cyclotrons. Later, the guests visited the Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, where they were acquainted with the IBR-2 reactor named by the guests as one of the priorities. The programme of the visit also included the JINR flagship project – the NICA collider which is being developed, and the superconducting magnets factory in the Veksler and Baldin Laboratory of High Energy Physics. The special feature of the excursions to VBLHEP was the delegation’s visit to the office of a famous Chinese scientist, academician of the China Academy of Sciences, Professor Wang Ganchang.

Professor Wang Ganchang is a former Vice-Director of JINR (1958 – 1960) and one of its founders, who worked for a long time in the VBLHEP, co-author of the JINR’s discovery of antisigma-minus-hyperon. One of the activists in the implementation of the nuclear programme of China. Wang Ganchang was a director of CIAE in 1978 – 1983 and made a decisive contribution to formation and development of the Chinese Institute of Atomic Energy

A reception in the JINR Directorate concluded the visit of the delegation. The guests were welcomed by JINR Director Academician V.A. Matveev, JINR Vice-Director V. D. Kekelidze, JINR Chief Engineer B.N. Gikal, Head of the JINR International Cooperation Department D.V. Kamanin and JINR Assistant Director G.D. Shirkov. Addressing the Chinese delegation, V.A. Matveev emphasized the principal role in formation and development of JINR that China played as one of the founding countries. In his response, on behalf of the CNNC Corporation, Mr. Qian Tianlin expressed his wish to actively develop cooperation with JINR, noting that the visit allowed them to establish the necessary contacts and to identify certain steps in this direction. In particular, he spoke about the idea that emerged during the visit to hold a Symposium dedicated to the memory of Professor Wang Ganchang. V.A. Matveev marked that JINR carefully preserves the memory of Professor Wang Ganchang, after whom the Central Alley of the VBLHEP site was named. V.A. Matveev informed the guests that he sees the opportunity to open a memorial room of the Professor in VBLHEP in future.

On behalf of the CNNC Corporation, Mr. Qian TianLing invited JINR Director V.A. Matveev to visit the CNNC headquarters and CIAE. He also noted the important role of the NICA project for the world physics and expressed his intention to provide information on the progress of its implementation to the Ministry of Science and Technology of China. In his turn, the CIAE President Mr. Wang Gan said that the acquaintance with the NICA project, as well as the scientific potential of JINR, made a great impression on the delegation and gave a vision of the prospects for cooperation between our Institutions, not only in the frames of this project, but in various fields of nuclear physics, nuclear medicine, accelerator and reactor engineering.

In an interview for the media at the meeting, V.A. Matveev noted the importance of the visit of such a high-level delegation of China to JINR. He also expressed confidence that this visit and the holding of a joint Symposium will give a new impetus to development of cooperation between China and JINR.