Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Xu Guanhua and European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin agreed in Beijing Wednesday that China and the European Union (EU) will deepen their cooperation in space technologies, hydrogen energy development, fusion development and bio-technologies.  

In a joint statement signed by Xu and Busquin, both sides recognized that the high-level China-EU workshop on space cooperation, which was organized Wednesday in Beijing, might push forward concerted research on remote sensing and Earth observation, satellite telecommunications and the Galileo System, the European version of the global positioning system.

In their talks before signing the statement, Xu and Busquin agreed that China and the EU will discuss to set up a dialogue for long-term space technological application.

They also agreed to organize a Sino-European forum on science and technology policy and strategy.

In the statement, the two sides expressed their willingness to strengthen bilateral ties in the field and expand cooperation in the future.

Both Xu and Busquin praised the partnership on the Galileo program and the cooperation between the two sides in international collaboration in the development of fusion, a project named ITER which means "the way" in Latin.

After they signed the science and technology cooperation agreement in December 1998, China and the EU carried out more than100 projects in bio-technologies, information technology, environmental protection and food safety. The two sides also arranged eight research projects on severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Busquin is here at the invitation of the Ministry of Science and Technology. During his six-day stay in China, he is scheduled to visit the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Space Administration.

(Xinhua News Agency April 8, 2004)