Recently, Vice President Yuan Yingjin of Tianjin University and Deputy Mayor Sun Xiaohong of Kaifeng City signed an agreement for the building of a Central Plains Research Institute during the Conference for Openness and Cooperation in the Zhengzhou-Luoyang-Xinxiang National Innovation Demonstration Zone held in Beijing. The conference was sponsored by the Government of Henan Province.

According to the agreement, the first phase of the Central Plains Research Institute is to construct five research centers, covering chemical materials, advanced manufacturing, green construction, instruments and apparatuses and culture creativity. Kaifeng City will provide the research space and bear the operating expenses, making it a priority project as a core activity for the competitiveness of the city. Kaifeng will also endeavor to develop the institute with joint efforts of the government and the university, a targeted policy and preferential support. To build the Institute, it is necessary to seize the opportunities provided by the Belt and Road Initiative, the integrative development of Central Plains Economic Region and Zhengzhou-Kaifeng district, and the construction of the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone and Henan Pilot Free Trade Zone. It is also necessary to explore new systems and mechanisms to achieve scientific and technological innovation and break the bottleneck of the industry-university-research cooperation, so as to popularize and operationalize scientific and technological achievements.