China, US pledge to push for renewal of sci-tech cooperation

2017-09-29
Xinhua

Vice-Premier Liu Yandong shakes hands with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at the US Department of State in Washington D.C. Sept 28, 2017. The first China-US Social and People-to-People Dialogue was held on Sept 28 in Washington. The event was co-chaired by Vice-Premier Liu Yandong and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.[Photo/Xinhua]

WASHINGTON —China and the United States on Sept 28 vowed to push for renewal of their wide-ranging ties in scientific and technological cooperation, as part of efforts to advance social and people-to-people exchange between the two countries.

The agreement was reflected in an action plan of the first China-US Social and People-to-people Dialogue, co-chaired in Washington by Vice-Premier Liu Yandong and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

The scientific and technological cooperation between the two partners dated back to 1979 when they signed the China-US Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement (S&T Agreement), under which the two countries have since reached nearly 50 inter-agency agreements and jointly supported thousands of cooperative programs.

The cooperation in terms of science and technology have benefited researchers and governmental agencies of both countries as they have been able to share with each other research data, resources, equipment and expertise of their own.

Vice-Premier Liu Yandong delivers a speech at George Washington University in Washington D.C. Sept 28, 2017. The first China-US Social and People-to-People Dialogue was held on Sept 28 in Washington D.C. The event was co-chaired by visiting Vice-Premier Liu Yandong and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.[Photo/Xinhua]

The action plan said China and the United States are committed to concertedly pushing forward the renewal of the S&T Agreement, while strengthening joint scientific research, exploiting ways for province-state cooperation on technological innovation, and promoting dialogue and cooperation between scientific and technological personnel of both countries.

Besides, the two countries, added the action plan, will conduct exchange and dialogue in terms of cooperation mechanism and policy between scientific and technological agencies, encourage businesses of both sides to cooperate in areas of innovation and entrepreneurship, and move forward cooperation between technology-driven think tanks.

China and the United States held their first Social and People-to-people Dialogue on Sept 28 in Washington D.C. It is one of the four high-level dialogue mechanisms established during a meeting between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Donald Trump.