Given the increasing cooperation between German and Chinese scientists from different fields, German Federal Research Minister Johanna Wanka announced a China strategy for cooperation in science and research on Wednesday.
"We want go on a path of strategic cooperation with China, which is not dependent on coincidences and opportunities. We want to take a course together with China, which is characterized by trust and reliability," said Wanka, presenting the strategy during the China Day at the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
According to the BMBF, the China strategy provides the basis for cooperation between Germany and China in research, science and education from 2015-2020. The aim of the strategy is to ensure success and mutual profit of cooperation in research and education.
China has further developed not only at economic levels, but also at scientific levels in the last decades, said Wanka, adding that the actors of the German research and scientific community are very interested to participate in the developments in China.
This year is the year of Sino-German Innovation Partnership. The Chinese side appreciates and welcomes the China strategy 2015-2020 of the BMBF, said Li Xiaosi, Chinese envoy to Germany.
The cooperation in environmental technologies, or individual key technologies such as electromobility or photonics is particularly interesting from the German point of view, according to the ministry.
Based on the analysis and recommendation conducted by German experts, the BMBF defined nine areas of action for future cooperation with China, which will be concretised by a set of 35 measures.
The individual fields of action range from basic issues such as the creation of a broader China expertise in Germany or the establishment of sustainable scientific cooperation structures to thematic priorities such as the key technologies, the life sciences, sustainability, the environment and vocational training cooperation.
According to the ministry, the China strategy contributes to the implementation of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Germany.
