The Inauguration Ceremony of Sino-Bulgarian Joint Lab of Climate Change Adaptive Governance for Rural Ecosystem took place in Qian Xuesen Library & Museum of Shanghai Jiao Tong University on 30 September 2022. The project is supported by the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality and will be implemented in partnership between Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) from Chinese side and the Institute of Agricultural Economics (IAE) of Agricultural Academy (AA), Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Agricultural University - Plovdiv and University of National and World Economy (UNWE), from Bulgarian side. The project’s duration is three years and both sides will prepare joint reports, publications and international conferences as well as student exchange programs will be organized in its frame.

The participants in the inauguration ceremony in hybrid (offline-online) format from Bulgarian side included: the Chairman of Agricultural Academy Prof. Dr.-Ing. Martin Banov as representative of Ministry of Agriculture of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Consul General in Shanghai Mr. Vladislav Spasov. From Chinese side the respected participants Mr. Xie Wenlan, Vice Director of the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality; Prof. Zhu Xinyuan, Vice President of SJTU and Ms. Gai Hongbo, First Secretary (Science and Technology) at the Embassy of China in Sofia.  

In his speech the Consul General Vladislav Spasov welcomed the new initiative as another success of the Bulgarian Center at SJTU, established in 2016. He underlined that Sino-Bulgarian Joint Lab of Climate Change Adaptive Governance for Rural Ecosystem is a practical implementation of the agreements included in the Joint Declaration between the Republic of Bulgaria and the People's Republic of China on the establishing of strategic partnership between our two countries (issued in Beijing on 3rd July 2019). The Consulate General of Bulgaria in Shanghai will support the scientists from both countries to realize the mutually beneficial goals of the laboratory. 

The inauguration ceremony was followed by a Symposium of Sino-Bulgarian Climate Change Rural Ecosystem Governance in which in hybrid (offline-online) format participated scientists from the partnering academic institutions at the Sino-Bulgarian Joint Lab of Climate Change Adaptive Governance for Rural Ecosystem, including: SJTU, IAE of AA, SU “St. Kl. Ohridski”, AU - Plovdiv and UNWE. Moderators of both panels of the symposium were accordingly: Prof. Che Shengquan from SJTU and Prof. Hrabrin Bachev from IAE of AA.