August 17, 2026, A delegation from the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL) in Mexico, led by Rector Santos Guzmán, visited the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO), Chinese Academy of Sciences, and signed a Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement to deepen bilateral collaboration in astronomy and space science.

During the workshop, Director Kong outlined SHAO’s research landscape and recent scientific advances, highlighting its internationally recognized work in very long baseline interferometry, astro-geodynamics, galactic cosmology and planetary science. He stressed the growing importance of international partnerships in tackling frontier research questions and developing major scientific infrastructure, and expressed the hope that the new agreement would open up sustained exchanges in research, education, and facility development.

The two sides formally signed the Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement during the workshop. Under the accord, SHAO and UANL will pursue a long-term partnership based on shared research efforts, joint talent cultivation, and common platform development. Priority areas include Optical Astronomy, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Space Weather, Radio Astronomy and Deep Space Exploration, Astronomical Technology and Cross-Disciplinary Engineering, Astrophysics and Planetary Science. The agreement also encourages joint international grant applications and staff and student exchanges.

The partnership aims to boost high-level disciplinary growth and the internationalization of astronomy, while contributing to scientific and technological progress in both China and Mexico.

As part of visit, the delegation toured Tianma Radio Telescope in Shanghai.