High-Level Shenzhen Seminar Advances China-France Interdisciplinary Aging Research Network

Researchers from China and France convened in Shenzhen for a High-Level Seminar on China-France Interdisciplinary Aging Research Network from March 8 to 10 to bolster bilateral collaboration in addressing global population aging challenges.

Hosted at the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the seminar was co-organized by CAS, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), the Chinese Geriatrics Society, the French Embassy in China, and the Chinese Embassy in France.

HE Hongping, Vice President of CAS, highlighted population aging as a common challenge for both nations in his video address. He emphasized the need for in-depth exploration and interdisciplinary collaboration to enhance scientific and technological capacity in this field. China and France boast distinctive and complementary strengths in healthy aging research, making the newly established network a vital platform for joint efforts to tackle key scientific and technological challenges in the aging process, Vice President HE said.

Didier Samuel, Chairman and CEO of INSERM, said that healthy aging is one of the priority areas identified by the 15th China-France Joint Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation. He recalled the signing of a Letter of Intent between INSERM and CAS during President Emmanuel Macron's visit to China in 2025, which officially established the China-France Interdisciplinary Aging Research Network. The high-level seminar will further leverage the complementary strengths of both sides and help build a sustainable model for continued bilateral cooperation on healthy aging, said Samuel.

Under the theme of "Bridging Bench and Bedside", the event brought together more than 90 representatives from nearly 20 CAS institutes, as well as French institutions including INSERM and the Pasteur Institute.

Experts from both countries engaged in extensive discussions on five major topics: brain and cognitive frailty, advanced diagnostic and therapeutic technologies, nutritional intervention, oncology, and biomarkers. These exchanges led to a significant consensus, laying a solid foundation for future interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral and inter-institutional research cooperation in healthy aging between China and France.

Representatives from China's Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, CAS, the French Embassy in China and INSERM introduced bilateral science and technology policies respectively during the seminar.

The closing ceremony featured a concluding speech delivered online by Jean-Pierre Michel, former Chair of the European Interdisciplinary Committee on Aging and Member of the French National Academy of Medicine.

The High-Level Seminar on China-France Interdisciplinary Aging Research Network was held from March 8 to 10 in Shenzhen, southern China. (Image by SIAT)