A Win-Win Waltz

ENCHANTING music filled the baroque-styleBeijing Lafayette Castle， an upscale hotelin the Chinese capital， as the visiting GrazUniversity Orchestra from Austria playedthe classic Chinese song Celebrating the Harvest . Itwas especially apt， given the full September harvest.The guests included Lei Fengyun， former science andtechnology counsellor at the Chinese embassy inAustria， who looked delighted to reunite with an oldfriend， Peter Riedler， president of Graz University. Thetwo held hands tightly as they exchanged notes.

Lei had joined the Chinese embassy in Austriafive years ago， where his work was facilitating cooperationon science and technology innovation andpromoting talent exchange within the frameworkof the Sino-Austrian friendly strategic partnership.Since then， he has befriended many Austrian expertswho are eager to have cooperation with the Chinese.Together with Chinese experts， they have promotedpragmatic collaboration in science， education， andtalent exchange between the two countries. “Peopleto-people friendship is key to the relationship betweencountries，” Lei told China Today in an exclusiveinterview.

A Healthier World with TCM

Graz University， with its history of over 400 years，is well-known in Europe. Lei has another old friendthere – Rudolf Bauer， director of the Center for TraditionalChinese Medicine （TCM） Research and alsodirector of the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences.Bauer is a recipient of the Chinese GovernmentFriendship Award.

Bauer， who has a Chinese name meaning onewho is moral and elegant， has a deep affection forChina and its culture. He loves TCM and believes itcan make greater contribution to building a healthierworld. It is his aspiration to explain the effectivenessof TCM from the perspective of a Western scientistand tell the story of TCM to the world.

“The TCM exchange between China and Austriahas a long history. It can be regarded as one of themost successful and exemplary areas of cooperationbetween them，” Lei said. Standardized clinicalresearch and recognized product standards are thefoundation for global acceptance of TCM， and aschairman of the European Pharmacopoeia Committee’sworking group on TCM， Bauer is involvedin quality evaluation of TCM. So far， he has helpedinclude more than 80 single-substance Chinese medicinesin the European Pharmacopoeia， the officialcompendium of pharmaceutical standards in Europe.

Bauer travels back and forth between China andAustria all year round， promoting exchanges betweenyoung researchers from both countries. He has sentover 240 Austrian students majoring in pharmacy toChina to learn about TCM and Chinese culture. Hislaboratory in Austria has also received hundreds ofChinese researchers and students， cultivating a groupof international talents who are promoting TCMworldwide.

Along with experts and scholars from more than10 Austrian universities in the field of pharmacy andacupuncture-moxibustion， Bauer has establishedlong-term and stable cooperation with the ChinaAcademy of Chinese Medical Sciences （CACMS） andhas organized several Sino-Austrian TCM seminars.

Shortly after Lei assumed office in Vienna， theCOVID-19 pandemic broke out globally. He recalledthat in May 2020， the CACMS and Graz University，supported by the Chinese embassy in Austria， jointlyheld a video seminar on the role of TCM in fightingCOVID-19. “TCM has played a major role in respondingto sudden major infectious diseases in humanhistory，” Bauer said at the seminar. “Given the continuousspread of COVID-19， it is necessary to establisha mechanism for cooperation on Sino-Austrian antipandemicresearch in TCM.”

In September 2020， the Belt and Road Joint Laboratoryof Sino-Austrian TCM Cooperation for thePrevention and Treatment of Major Infectious Diseaseswas approved by China’s Ministry of Scienceand Technology. It is a cooperative project betweenthe CACMS and Graz University， the first nationallevelBelt and Road joint laboratory of TCM. Bauer，who is the chief expert of the laboratory， said hehoped it would facilitate bilateral cooperation for thediscovery of new effective substances for epidemictreatment， and innovation on the key common technologiesin basic research， so that TCM is used moreextensively to treat sudden major infectious diseases.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has had many talkswith the foreign experts in China， asking about theirwork and life and encouraging them to participatein China’s development and promote internationalcollaboration on science and technology. Lei said thepresident’s thinking that “talent should be pooled forgood use” helped to win the battle against COVID-19.It will also play a vital role in building a global communityof health for all.

A Long Connection

During his work in Austria， Lei met Herbert Mang，who is a distinguished professor at Tongji Universityin Shanghai and a foreign academician of theChinese Academy of Engineering. An internationallyrenowned expert in structural engineering andcomputational mechanics， Mang served as vice presidentof the Vienna Universityof Technology and dean of theAustrian Academy of Sciences.Last year， he received the ChineseGovernment FriendshipAward.

Mang’s connection withChina goes back to 1981，when he came to China as anexpert with the United NationsIndustrial DevelopmentOrganization. At the Zhengzhou Machinery ResearchInstitute in Zhengzhou in central China， he saw thearduous work conditions of local scientists and techniciansand was moved by their dedication. It madehim decide to establish a long-term cooperation.

In 2007， promoted by Mang， the Austria-China ResearchCenter on Tunnel and Underground Engineeringwas established at Tongji University. It is the childof Tongji University and the Eurasian-Pacific Uninet，the largest independent university network of itskind in Europe working to support interdisciplinaryscientific exchange. Via this platform， scientists fromdiverse countries have frequent academic exchangesand cooperation， including scientists from Germany，the United Kingdom， Italy， and Switzerland.

Mang has signed several scientific cooperationmemorandums with the Chinese Academy of Scienceson behalf of the Austrian Academy of Sciences，promoting the establishment of joint research centerson tunnel and underground engineering and jointlaboratories for international cooperation on earthquakeengineering. He has also participated in somemajor infrastructure projects in China such as theHong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge， the longest seacrossingbridge in the world， resolving technical issuesin the seismic resistance of its undersea tunnel.

Since 2004， Tongji University and the Vienna Universityof Technology have jointly trained graduatestudents， postdoctoral fellows， and young teachersin the field of civil engineering， published high-levelpapers， and undertaken three major projects. Theirresearch， mainly focusing on tunnels and undergroundengineering， has provided support for majorengineering projects such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the Yangtze River tunnel-bridgecomplex in Shanghai. In 2021， both universitiesreceived support from the National Key Research andDevelopment Program of China as an “Internationalcooperation in science and technology innovationbetween governments” project.

In 2019， Mang was chosen for the InternationalScience and Technology Cooperation Award andwent to China next year to receive it at the Great Hallof the People in Beijing. In 2021， the 50th anniversaryof the establishment of diplomatic relations betweenChina and Austria， Tongji University and ViennaUniversity of Technology jointly held an internationalsymposium on interdisciplinary research in civilengineering science， which reviewed the history ofcooperation between the two universities since 2004，as well as the cooperation and exchanges betweenChina and Austria.

“Over the past 40 years， the most importantachievement I have made in the collaboration withChina in the field of civil engineering has been thejoint training of a group of promising young talentsfor the academic and industrial communitiesof both countries，” Mang said. Along with projectssuch as the Qinghai-Xizang Railway， the Southto-North Water Diversion Project， and the HongKong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge， China has begun tolead the world in the field of engineering technology.The future of the world engineering technologyis in China， and the hope lies in the young Chinese，he added.

Hidden Champions and Little Giants

Regarding the economic and trade cooperationdriven by technological exchanges between Chinaand Austria， Lei said new opportunities startedcoming in 2018， when the two countries establisheda friendly strategic partnership. That year， AustrianPresident Alexander Van der Bellen and then ChancellorSebastian Kurz visited China， accompanied byseveral ministers， the chair of the Austrian Chamberof Commerce， and heads of some renowned enterprisesand “hidden champions.”

AST Refrigeration and Solar Technology andDoppelmayr Cable Car were among them. Both hadalready entered the Chinese market. At that time，buoyed by China’s successful bid for the 2022 BeijingWinter Olympics and President Xi’s pledge to have300 million people in China take up ice and snowsports， China’s ice and snow industry had entered aperiod of rapid development. As a powerhouse in theindustry， Austria seized the huge China market opportunity.

Doppelmayr， founded in 1893， is a global leader inthe cableway market， with over 15，000 cableways in96 countries and regions worldwide under its belt.The company also supplied cableway equipment forthe Beijing Winter Olympics. As of now， it has builtor is building 140-plus cable cars for Chinese scenicspots and ski resorts， with a market share of over 60percent in China.

“Hidden champion” is a term coined by famousGerman management expert Hermann Simon in1990， referring to small and medium-sized enterprises（SMEs） that are unknown to the public. These“hidden champions” usually have a large number ofwell-trained experts， fast execution skills， and continuousinnovation ability. They dig deep into theirniche markets， achieving success through globalization，and becoming leaders with huge influence intheir industries.

With China’s ties with Austria expanding， someAustrian “hidden champions” have entered theChinese market. “China is known for its fast speed ofinnovation. More and more technology-based companiesare willing to develop in China，” Lei said.

China too has its own version of the “hiddenchampions.” Its specialized SMEs with new， andunique products are competitive in their niche markets，and have strong innovation capabilities， a largemarket share， and strength incore technologies. The ChineseMinistry of Industry and InformationTechnology has certified12，000 such SMEs as “l(fā)ittlegiants.”

In November 2022， theChina-EU International Forumon Sustainable Development ofSMEs was held in Beijing， sponsored by the ChinaInternational Cooperation Association of SMEs， theGerman Association of Small and Medium-SizedBusinesses， and the Austrian International Associationfor the Promotion of Vocational Education. Atthe forum， experts， scholars， and SME representativesfrom nine countries discussed digitalizationand explored international cooperation， mutualbenefit， and sustainable development.

Austria’s “hidden champions” and China’s “specializedenterprises with new， unique and competitiveproducts” should learn from each other， Lei saidat the forum. The result will be win-win， as it willadvance the transformation and upgrading of SMEs，and also provide support for the development of themanufacturing sector and the real economy. At thesame time， it will help to connect key nodes in theindustrial and supply chains， giving a strong impetusto high-quality economic growth.