On the afternoon of May 13, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology (JXUST) signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Guangxi Huaxi Nonferrous Metals Co., Ltd., pledging to deepen industry-academia integration and joint talent cultivation. Before the signing ceremony, JXUST Party Secretary Liu Zuwen met with Zhang Xiaoning, Party Secretary and Chairman of Huaxi Nonferrous, to discuss closer collaboration. President Ge Shirong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and Vice President Dong Bingyan later joined the formal talks.
President Ge outlined the university’s vision, rooted in the old revolutionary base of southern Jiangxi. With a sharp focus on rare earths and critical minerals, JXUST aims to become a world-class university in those fields. It has established three centers of excellence — in rare earth technology, critical minerals, and advanced materials — and is striving for breakthroughs in what it calls “three super” materials: super copper, ultra-hard tungsten, and super-tough steel. Ge expressed hope that JXUST and Huaxi Nonferrous can pilot a “targeted class” model, where tailored courses, field internships and graduation projects feed technical talent directly to the company. He also stressed deeper collaboration in critical mineral development, technology transfer, and talent training to serve the Belt and Road Initiative and national mineral security.
Zhang Xiaoning, a JXUST alumnus, said he still lives by his alma mater’s ethos of “honesty, a solid foundation and steadfast work.” He noted that Guangxi, with its rich resources and location, has designated nine critical minerals — including rare earths, indium and antimony — as priorities. Huaxi Nonferrous, he explained, is sharpening its competitive edge through resource consolidation, technological innovation, green development and open cooperation. Noting that both sides share the mission of safeguarding the country’s critical metal supply chains, Zhang called for practical measures: inviting university faculty to work on the shop floor to identify real technical needs, and jointly designing tailored training while tackling research challenges such as tailings reutilisation and green intelligent mining. All efforts, he said, would embody the company’s guiding principle — “what the nation needs, what Guangxi can offer, and what Huaxi can deliver” — and advance mining cooperation with ASEAN.
During the meeting, the two parties signed a strategic cooperation agreement and a letter of intent. They also discussed detailed plans for degree-advancement programmes, Huaxi talent classes and skills-training workshops, further cementing a shared roadmap for collaboration.
