China is vying with Japan and Britain to host the 2030 maths Olympics for the second time, after it first held the event in 2002, an initiative led by eminent mathematician Shing-Tung Yau.
Yau is leading a team of 40 Chinese and international mathematicians in the bid for the 2030 International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM), according to the Yau Mathematical Sciences Centre at Tsinghua University.
“The ICM is important for many mathematical researchers as a platform to understand key developments worldwide over the past four years and an opportunity to showcase their academic achievements,” Yau said in an interview with China Science Daily on Tuesday.
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“As the level of mathematics in China advances, I think 2030 will be a critical year and an important moment for Chinese mathematics to rise on the world stage. We hope to inspire young Chinese researchers and scholars to stand out in the world through the ICM.”
Yau, the first Chinese to win the Fields Medal for his work in differential geometry, retired from Harvard University in 2022 to teach at Tsinghua University and help China become a maths powerhouse.
He has set up institutions in China such as the maths centre at Tsinghua and the Beijing Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Applications, which have attracted top local and international talent.
The ICM, first held in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1897, is a major event attended by thousands of mathematicians worldwide. It is staged every four years and will next be held in Philadelphia in 2026.
At the congress, the International Mathematical Union (IMU) presents awards that are considered the highest mathematical honours, including the Fields Medals and the IMU Abacus Medal for researchers under the age of 40. Top mathematicians are invited to discuss current research trends.
Yau said that in 2002, when China first hosted the international congress, “the level of mathematical research in the country was still far behind the world” with a limited number of accomplished scholars. The conference served as a communication bridge between Chinese and overseas scholars.
“After nearly 30 years, Chinese undergraduate and high school students have made progress in mathematics to reach a world-class level. We hope that by 2030, we can proudly say that much knowledge is created by ourselves.”
Yau has formed bidding and academic committees for the event, featuring members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the American Mathematical Society, the National Academy of Sciences in the US, the Japan Academy, and the Royal Society in Britain.
Yau said Japan and Britain have also applied to host the 2030 event. Japan held the 1990 ICM in Kyoto, while Britain held two editions, in Edinburgh in 1958 and Cambridge in 1912.
Bid submissions for the ICM, to be held in the summer of 2030, will close in November, and the results will be announced in July 2026.
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