The UK and China have agreed £53 million of joint research programmes to tackle global issues including climate change, long-term renewable energy supplies and diseases at the UK-China Summit during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to London this week.
Programmes will be backed by the UK-China Research and Innovation Partnership Fund, which will provide £200 million for research collaboration over the next five years.
“The world faces a number of global challenges, and high quality science and innovation and their application are essential for identifying long-term solutions”
“The world faces a number of global challenges, and high quality science and innovation and their application are essential for identifying long-term solutions,” Universities and Science Minister David Willetts said.
“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.”
Speaking at the Summit, where he signed an agreement for the initial programmes with Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming, Willetts called the Fund “an exciting new model of collaboration between the UK and China, which builds upon the excellent relationship we already share in science and innovation”.
The programmes set in motion this week include £14 million of Newton Fellowships for collaboration between Chinese and UK research scientists and £16 million to fund 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.
“The Newton Fund will enable both the UK and China to build on these existing relationships over the next five years and to enhance the global impact of UK-Chinese science and research,” Vivienne Stern, Director of the International Unit (IU), commented.
IU is working with the British Council and with Chinese partners as one of the Fund’s main delivery partners to develop three programmes that will facilitate exchanges and long term collaborations between hundreds of Chinese and UK researchers.
“The UK is China’s second largest research partner, and these links are highly valued by our higher education institutions”
“Researcher collaboration and PhD partnerships, which are central to the UK-China relationship in Education, have undergone a step change through the Newton Fund,” Susan Milner, Director of Education for the British Council in China, added.
“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.”
The Newton PhD, the Researcher Mobility and Professional Development and Engagement Programmes will be developed in partnership with Research Councils UK, the UK Academies, and the Technology Strategy Board.
“The International Unit welcomes this opportunity for the UK higher education sector to continue and enhance its collaboration in research and innovation with China,” said Stern. “The UK is China’s second largest research partner, and these links are highly valued by our higher education institutions.”
A further £23 million will be put toward scientific research programmes led by the UK’s Met Office to develop services to protect against extreme weather and prepare for a changing climate in Asia.
