The seventh China-CEEC (Central and Eastern European Countries) Local Leaders' Meeting and the 2026 Shandong International Friendship Cities Cooperation kicked off in Jinan, the capital of east China's Shandong Province, on Tuesday. Slovak academics expressed hopes for increased dialogue, visits and joint projects between their country and China during an interview with CGTN's Zhang Meng.

Moravcikova Jana, a professor at the University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, made her first trip to China. 

"China is a global leader in smart technology," she said. "The combination – smart farming, green infrastructure – can help both sides."

Kacaniova Miroslava, a professor at the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, is no stranger to China. She has ongoing research collaborations with Shandong University and Zhejiang University, focusing on antimicrobial activity of essential oils and wild meat processing.

Both scholars agreed that climate change and food security are shared challenges where China's smart technology and Slovakia's traditional agricultural research can come together.