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UK and China have agreed to a research partnership deal worth over £50m to help tackle global issues like climate change, long-term renewable energy supplies and human diseases.
The move aims to build closer research links between the UK and China and will see both countries initially investing £53m equally in research projects. A further £200m will be made available over the next five years.
The projects, finalised at a UK-China summit in London by universities and science minister David Willetts and Chinese ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming, include:
• A £23m scientific research programme, led in the UK by the Met Office, that will help build the basis for services to protect against extreme weather and prepare for a changing climate in Asia.
• £16m of joint research partnerships, led in the UK by Research Councils UK, to support advances in marine energy, regenerative medicine and stem cells, atmospheric pollution and human health, and sustaining the soil ecosystem.
• £14m of Newton Fellowships to provide the opportunity for Chinese and UK researchers to develop meaningful collaborations with scientists in one another's countries.
"The world faces a number of global challenges, and high quality science and innovation and their application are essential for identifying long-term solutions," says Willetts. "By working together, the UK and China's ability to produce higher quality research and create opportunities to develop and commercialise new innovative technologies are greatly increased."
Professor Kevin Schurer, pro vice-chancellor for research and enterprise at the University of Leicester, welcomes the deal: "This initiative is very timely and very welcome. The opportunities for collaborative research and the development of new innovation jointly between the UK and China are significant."
But Schurer also emphasises the need to ensure research is of the highest quality. Concerns over quality of academic research has led to China cracking down on academic fraud which has seen an increase in recent years.
Schurer adds: "Clearly there will be a need and desire to ensure that the research is of the highest quality and also adheres to open access standards. I would also like to see this initiative widen its vision to include multiple challenges which are also important in developing societal improvements and advances."
Susan Milner, director of education for the British Council in China, says: "Researcher collaboration and PhD partnerships, which are central to the UK-China relationship in education, have undergone a step change through the Newton Fund. China is a major global investor in R&D and the UK will benefit enormously from research and innovation collaboration on issues of global significance."
Vivienne Stern, director of the International Unit, adds: "The UK is China's second largest research partner, and these links are highly valued by our higher education institutions."
The UK has 31 universities featured in the top 200 of the world university rankings, compared with China which has two. China is now the third largest producer of research in the world.
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