The 5th China-Swiss joint working group meeting on science and technology was held on September 10, 2010 in Beijing. XU Chaoqian, MOST Deputy Director of International Cooperation and Juerg Burri, Deputy Director, Swedish State Secretariat for Education and Research, co-chaired the meeting. Both sides briefed the other side of the latest S&T developments in their countries, and the progresses made in the areas of energy, resources, environment in recent years, especially under the impact of financial crisis. XU said Sino-Swiss Science and Technology Cooperation Plan for 2008-2011 (SSSTC) opened a new page in S&T cooperation between the two countries. Both Chinese and Swiss governments secured firm support for 30 high quality projects, allowing them to be implemented in a smooth manner, and to become a role model for China-EU S&T cooperation.
Burri introduced the innovation system and research funding mechanisms in Switzerland, hoping Chinese and Swiss research institutes working together for mutual benefits. The two sides also shared vision of the future strategic positioning of S&T cooperation between the two countries, and exchanged views on deepening the bilateral cooperation in a targeted, phased, and priority-set manner. The two sides confirmed life sciences and biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, and materials science the main cooperation areas. Both sides also agreed to scale up funding for research projects when budget permits.
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