The Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE) and Northeast Forestry University have signed a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement,.

The agreement, signed in Shenyang on July 25, marks a new stage in decades of cooperation between the two institutions and aims to support national strategies including ecological conservation, green development and the revitalization of Northeast China.

Under the agreement, the two sides will deepen cooperation across multiple areas, including academic development, talent training, research collaboration and innovation platform construction. They will focus on addressing major scientific challenges related to northern ecological security barriers, black soil conservation, precise carbon sink measurement and biodiversity conservation.

ZHU Jiaojun, director of the Institute of Applied Ecology, said the partnership would help integrate the two institutions’ strengths in ecology, forestry and related disciplines to enhance collaborative innovation. He emphasized that the cooperation would provide stronger scientific support for strengthening ecological security in Northeast China and promoting regional green and low-carbon development.

“By integrating our talent resources and research capabilities, we can transform our complementary advantages into greater innovation capacity,” ZHU said, adding that future cooperation would focus on major national needs, practical research projects and long-term mechanisms for collaboration.

SONG Wenlong, president of Northeast Forestry University, said the two institutions share a strong foundation of cooperation and that the agreement opens a new chapter in joint efforts to serve ecological civilization development and regional revitalization.

SONG highlighted the importance of closer collaboration in areas where both sides have advantages, including forest ecosystems, sustainable forest management and accurate carbon sink assessment. He said the university would draw on IAE’s experience in managing field observation stations and promote greater resource sharing through the Northeast Forest Ecosystem Field Observation Research Station Alliance. He added that the two institutions would also explore emerging research areas such as, wetland restoration and biodiversity conservation, while expanding cooperation in graduate education, youth researcher exchanges, shared scientific equipment, academic publications and data resources.

During the signing ceremony, ZHU and SONG signed the strategic cooperation framework agreement on behalf of their respective institutions. Administrative representatives from both sides said the partnership would further improve the integration of research, education and innovation resources and contribute to national ecological goals and the high-quality development of Northeast China.

Following the ceremony, SONG and other university representatives visited IAE’s exhibition hall to learn about its history and scientific achievements.

Figure 1. Representatives from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Applied Ecology and Northeast Forestry University sign a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement in Shenyang on July 25, 2026.