On March 2nd, 2017 Xu Jie, Deputy Inspector of the Department of International Cooperation, held talks with a delegation of Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) led by Gunnar Bovim, Rector of NTNU, and Thomas Hansteen, Special Adviser at The Research Council of Norway. The two sides exchanged views on strengthening STI cooperation between Chinese and Norwegian universities.
 
Mr. Gunnar Bovim introduced NTNU and made a brief account of their academic cooperation with Shanghai Jiaotong University and Tsinghua University. He said NTNU is the best university of science and engineering in Norway and they would like to play a leading role to advance bilateral cooperation in science and technology, establish long-term strategic partnership and expand cooperation in such fields as sustainable energy, healthcare, ocean preservation and materials research.
   
Mr. Xu Jie said China-Norway STI cooperation is complementary and NTNU and other Norwegian universities with prominent R&D capabilities and academic influence are welcoming to conduct joint research with Chinese counterparts and produce mutually beneficial outcomes. He also introduced how the Chinese government funds international projects.
 
Ms. Anne Kari Johansen, Counsellor for Science, Higher Education and Research of the Norwegian Embassy in Beijing, was present during the meeting.

NTNU is the most prestigious Norwegian university in engineering science and industrial technology, and its history could go back to 1760. It has strong technological and academic strength in energy, maritime science, physiology and medicine, material science and chemical engineering. Several professors of the university were Nobel laureates. Prof. Lars Onsager won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1968, Prof. Ivar Giaever won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973, and Prof. Edvand Moser and his wife May-Britt Moser shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2014. NTNU has signed cooperation agreements with 20 prominent universities in China.