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As China narrows maths gap with US, Hong Kong bids to host 2030 global event
Top mathematicians see candidacy as ‘tipping point’, with one saying ‘moment has now arrived’ for finest Chinese students to study at home
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Zhang Tongin BeijingPublished: 12:00pm, 1 Jul 2026
Even before the world’s top mathematicians gather in Philadelphia in late July for the International Congress of Mathematicians, a high-stakes battle is unfolding over where the global event will next take place.
Spearheaded by 1982 Fields Medallist and Tsinghua University professor Shing-Tung Yau, Hong Kong’s bid to host the 2030 congress faces competition from Glasgow and Tokyo.
An inspection delegation from the International Mathematical Union (IMU) – the congress’s governing body – completed site visits at all three candidate cities in February. The final decision is set to be unveiled at the IMU general assembly in New York on July 21.
Yau and fellow academic Wong Wing-hung described the Hong Kong bid as coinciding with a “tipping point”, when America’s long-standing dominance in mathematical sciences was beginning to cede ground to a rapidly rising China.
According to Yau, the bid was formally launched last year under the auspices of the Hong Kong Mathematical Society, with strong backing from the Chinese Mathematical Society.
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The IMU’s inspection team left visibly impressed by their visit, Yau said, especially with respect to Hong Kong’s immigration policy.
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