On March 13, 2025, Vice President Lan Yujie met with Dr. Ingrid Krüßmann, Deputy Director of the International Cooperation Bureau of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and German Director of the Sino-German Science Center, along with her delegation. Fan Yingjie, Director General of the Bureau of International Cooperation of the NSFC and Chinese Director of the Sino-German Science Center, presided over the meeting.

Vice President Lan Yujie extended a warm welcome to Dr. Ingrid Krüßmann for leading the delegation to NSFC again. He pointed out that, based on the outcomes of the discussion between President Dou Xiankang and President Katja Becker in 2024 and the consensus reached at the 27th Joint Committee meeting of the Sino-German Center, NSFC and DFG have restarted the program director exchange program and will resume the joint funding mechanism for Sino-German cooperative research projects in the field of mathematics this year. Both institutions will strengthen discussions on funding policies and further promote academic exchanges and practical cooperation between scientists of the two countries. Vice President Lan Yujie reaffirmed NSFC’s commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation with DFG in basic sciences, advancing the strategic transformation of the Sino-German Center, and positioning it as a flagship platform for Sino-German scientific and technological collaboration.

Dr. Ingrid Krüßmann expressed her gratitude to NSFC for its sustained support of Sino-German cooperation, especially for facilitating the work  of the German side at the Sino-German Center. She expressed her willingness to work closely with Chinese colleagues to maximize the potential of the Sino-German Center in nurturing young researchers and advancing Sino-German scientific exchanges, in light of the current situation.

Both sides also held consultations on issues such as cross-border data transmission, the implementation progress of the Lindau program, preparations for the 25th-anniversary celebration activities of the Sino-German Science Center, and infrastructure maintenance.

Attendees included relevant colleagues from the European Affairs Division of the Bureau of International Cooperation of NSFC and the Chinese side of the Sino-German Center, Wolfgang Wachter, Project Officer from the Science Department of the DFG, and Ylva Schuberth, Deputy German Director of the Sino-German Science Center.