Sciences Tan Tieniu visited Wuhan Institute of Virology on August 22th afternoon and a symposium has been held.

Tan firstly visited Wuhan P4 laboratory. In the laboratory, he asked the details of the laboratory’s functional layout, construction process, commissioning and operation situations, biosafety management and so on. He also communicated with the working team which is responsible for the laboratory’s operation and maintenance. A symposium was held later. In the symposium, Chen Xinwen, director of Wuhan Institute of Virology reported the general situation of technical innovation, focusing on the Institute’s key programs such as “One-Three-Five Plan” (one research and development orientation, three breakthroughs and five cultivating areas) and “Being the First to Act”; Yuan Zhiming, director of Wuhan Branch of Chinese Academy of Sciences, introduced the Sino-
France cooperation background and summarized the achievements that have already been made through the Sino-France cooperation in areas such as science and technology, the construction of biosafety system and personnel training.

Tan highly praised the work done by Wuhan Institute of Virology. “You never know how difficult it is till you try”, Tan said. “Wuhan P4 laboratory is a remarkable achievement of Sino-France cooperation. It is a platform that provides conditions for collaborative innovation at home and abroad, and is of vital strategic importance for China as a country to safeguard its national security. Wuhan Institute of Virology, constructed on the basis of P4 laboratory, has always been working according to the national strategic demands and has been playing a positive role in areas such as prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases and dealing with national public health emergencies.