CNIA President awarded Honorary Doctorate from Swinburne
In Summary
Swinburne University of Technology has awarded an honorary doctorate to China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA) President, Chen QuanXun, in recognition of his service to the State Council of China, policy making, industry development and contributions to Australia-China relations.
“Mr Chen is a close friend of Swinburne and has been instrumental in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for research co-operation between Kunming University of Science and Technology and Swinburne,” Swinburne’s President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Linda Kristjanson said.
“He has also been supportive of Swinburne’s profile building events in China and university partnership in the research field of nonferrous metals, including the joint Australia-China Aluminium Industry Technology Symposium, which was held at Swinburne last year.
“The honorary doctorate is an opportunity for us to recognise his contribution and honour him as a member of the Swinburne family.”
Mr Chen is also Counsellor of the State Council in Beijing and President of China Tungsten Industry Association. He has been involved in research into the reform of the macro economy of China, state-owned enterprises and the development of national non-ferrous metals industry.
In recent years Mr Chen has produced reports and made policy suggestions for the State Council, which played a positive role in policy making and industry development. He has contributed to, and implemented, the State Council’s priorities on reforms in housing, medical and state-owned enterprises, and the nonferrous industry.
Mr Chen promoted Sino-Australian cooperation in the fields of non-ferrous industry, bauxite, alumina and iron-steel while he was Chairman of Boards of Supervisors for both Chinalco and Baosteel. He has actively promoted co-operative research in metal material applications between China and Australia.
Under his leadership, CNIA has set up a cooperative relationship with the Victorian government, and in September 2012, Mr Chen sponsored the Beijing-Victoria Applied Research Symposium.
Mr Chen introduced CNIA’s member university, Kunming University of Science and Technology (KUST), to Swinburne. A Memorandum of Understanding for research co-operation between KUST and Swinburne was signed in 2013.
In August 2013, Mr Chen and the Victorian government supported the Joint Australia-China Aluminium Industry Technology Symposium held at Swinburne’s Hawthorn campus.
The award - Doctor of Science (HonDSci) - was presented by Professor Kristjanson at a ceremony in Beijing on 11 October 2014.