Professor dedicates 30 years to improving tech cooperation

Bruno Grassetti, a professor of applied geography at the Niccolo Cusano University in Rome, was shocked by China's backward technology during his first visit to the country in 1984.

"I was distressed by the report presented in a meeting by Chinese experts stating that agricultural products were not moved more than 15 to 20 kilometers from the point of cultivation, because the industrial transformation of agricultural products was practically absent and the transportation infrastructure was in such poor condition," the 75-year-old said.

Grassetti submitted a proposal to establish a food industry research institute to enhance technology for the industry to the Chinese government and gained support from both Italy and China.