Senior representatives from the University of Birmingham are visiting Guangzhou this week to enhance the institution's extensive links with partners in the region.

Pro-Vice-Chancellors Professor Edward Peck and Professor Richard Williams will meet Ma Zhengyong, deputy secretary-general of the municipal government of Guangzhou, affirming the long-term strategic partnership between the city and the university.

During the visit, discussions will take place with the local government on the development of future research projects, for the next three years, in the fields of advanced engineering, new materials, railways and energy.

Since it started in 2011, the partnership has seen the launch of five significant joint research projects, which include the Born in Guangzhou Cohort Study in partnership with the Guangzhou Women's and Children's Medical Center, the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study in partnership with the Guangzhou No. 12 Hospital, among others.

Together with meetings with local partners relating to the five existing research projects, the University of Birmingham delegation will meet with representatives from South China University of Technologies (SCUT), Jinan University, Guangdong Department of Science and Technology, and the China Electrical Science Research Institute (CEI).

"This latest visit demonstrates the university's ongoing commitment to advancing our partnerships with Guangzhou and across the Pearl River Delta region," said Peck.

"While working on the existing research projects, we are delighted to share further exciting research ideas."

"These would help Guangzhou to become a center of research excellence in smart grids, clinical trials and regenerative medicine. In addition, an exchange between student Formula One-style racing teams from the two cities will begin," he added.