From April 20 to 24, 2026, at the invitation of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation (MHESI) of Uzbekistan and the National Academy of Sciences under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (NAS RK), Vice President Jiang Song of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) led a delegation to the two countries to sign science and technology cooperation agreements and conduct bilateral consultations.

During the visit to Uzbekistan, Vice President Jiang Song held bilateral meetings with Deputy Minister Salomov Uktam Rakhimovich of the MHESI, as well as President Ayupov Shavkat Abdullayevich and Vice President Mirzaev Sirojiddin Zayniyevich of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan. The NSFC delegation conducted in-depth discussion and thorough consultations with them on topics such as the latest institutional developments and deepening practical cooperation in basic sciences between China and Uzbekistan, and reached a preliminary consensus on signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation. The NSFC delegation also successively visited universities and research institutions, including Tashkent University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, the Samarkand Branch of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, Samarkand State University, and the "Silk Road" International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage, to conduct field research on the current status of science and education development and the talent cultivation system in Uzbekistan, and a systematic collation of the China-Uzbekistan research cooperation outcomes. Vice President Jiang Song also paid a special visit to Minister-Counselor Wang Jiwei of the Chinese Embassy in Uzbekistan, where they exchanged views on coordinating and advancing the synergistic development of regional scientific and technological innovation between China and Uzbekistan and across the China-Central Asia.

Figure 1. The delegation visited the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of Uzbekistan on the afternoon of April 21.

During the visit to Kazakhstan, the NSFC and the NAS RK formally signed a MoU on cooperation. The two sides finalized key matters, including the establishment of a long-term cooperation mechanism and the funding of joint research projects, reaching a deep consensus on cooperation. The NSFC delegation also visited prestigious universities such as the Kazakh National Agrarian Research University and Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, where they held discussions focused on expanding academic exchanges and deepening scientific research cooperation between China and Kazakhstan.

Figure 2. On the morning of April 24, Vice President Jiang Song, on behalf of the NSFC, formally signed an MoU with the NAS RK.

Throughout the trip, the delegation also conducted on-site visits to cooperation platforms, including the China-Uzbekistan Joint Laboratory on Urban Science, the China-Central Asia “Belt and Road” Joint Laboratory on Human and Environment, the International Joint Laboratory for Spatiotemporal Intelligence and Sustainable Development in Central Asia, the China-Kazakhstan Belt and Road Joint Laboratory for Material Genetic Engineering and Intelligent Science, and the Northwestern Polytechnical University Kazakhstan Branch, investigating in detail the construction, operation, and progress of these platforms.

Fan Yingjie, Director of the Bureau of International Cooperation of NSFC, and relevant staff accompanied the delegation.