PERTH, 7 APRIL 2008

JOINT COMMUNIQUÉ

Collaboration between China and Australia in science and technology was further enhanced at the seventh Joint Science and Technology Commission (JSTC) meeting, led by the Australian Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR) and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), held in Perth on 7 April 2008. The meeting provided a forum for discussions of recent collaborative initiatives and future directions for cooperation by representatives of peak government agencies responsible for science and technology, major research organisations and learned academies in both countries. A list of participants is at Attachment A, and in addition to DIISR and MOST, includes representatives of the:

Australian Research Council (ARC)Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)Australian Academy of Science (AAS)Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE)Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (NSFC)Australian Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism (DRET)Australian Phenomics Facility (APF) at the Australian National University (ANU)Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories (MISCL) at Monash UniversityEmbassy of the People's Republic of China in Australia

The scientific and technological relationship between China and Australia has a long history. A treaty signed between the two countries in 1980 underpins a range of other agreements, including a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on a Special Fund for Scientific and Technological Cooperation (Special Fund) which was signed in 2000, and renewed in 2005 and 2007.

The JSTC meetings are primarily focussed on the management of the Special Fund and related issues of bilateral importance. The meetings also allow for a wider and higher level dialogue involving science agencies, to nurture and foster one of Australia's most important science and technology relationships.

Key issues considered at the 2008 JSTC were the appropriate balance for funding projects and Joint Research Centres through the Special Fund, and Special Fund priority areas for scientific collaboration.

Australia and China reaffirmed that selection of Joint Research Centres for Special Fund support will be on the basis of scientific excellence, as is the case for projects. Both countries agreed that the number of Joint Research Centres to be funded in each round should be in the order of two to four. Both countries agreed that the Government support offered should be no more than about A$500,000 over three years, and would be viewed as seed funding to establish a strong platform for future centre operations, not perpetual funding. The meeting noted that, in addition to Joint Research Centres, there are significant numbers of other major Australia-China collaborations already in existence, underlining the strength of the S&T relationship between the two countries. Australian and Chinese officials will evaluate the processes and policies for selecting Joint Research Centre applications in late 2008, after the results of the 2008 round of the Special Fund have been bilaterally agreed.

The JSTC also agreed to a revised set of Special Fund priority areas. To improve clarity, the Climate Change area was separated from the Environment area, and additional examples were agreed under these two areas and under Energy. The approved revised set of Special Fund priority areas is:

· Agriculture (including: animal husbandry and animal health);

· Biotechnology (including: health and medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine);

· ICT (including: remote sensing);

· Environment (including: water resource management, air quality, soil quality and ecosystem sustainability and diversity);

Climate Change (including: climate science and meteorology);

· Mining (including: minerals);

· Energy (including: renewable energy, nuclear energy and energy efficiency); and

· Advanced materials (including: nanotechnology).

Delegates heard reports from the Joint Research Centres established under bilateral funding support from the 2007 round of the Special Fund. These centres are in the areas of Immunology & Phenomics, and Stem Cells Science. Although both centres have only recently begun operations, significant expansions of their collaborative research networks have already occurred, indicating the strength of these ventures.

The JSTC considered a report by the Australian Learned Science Academies on the success of the joint symposia series between CAS, AAS and ATSE, and noted that funding for the 2008 and 2009 Symposia had already been allocated by both governments. The 2009 Symposium will be held in Canberra in November on the topic of Remote Sensing.

Participants discussed the first two rounds of visits of the Young Scientists Exchange Program. The program is an initiative arising from the previous 2004 JSTC. The meeting agreed that the success of the visits warrants continuation of the program over 2008-2010. To strengthen the effectiveness of the program, the managing agencies (ATSE and MOST) will limit the areas of specialisation of the participants in consultation with DIISR before each round, and will seek more industry involvement when selecting participating organisations and scientists.

The JSTC also received presentations from CAS, NSFC and the ARC on the extensive bilateral collaborations conducted under the auspices of those agencies.

The JSTC agreed that the Australian website for applications to the Special Fund will include contact details for the Chinese funding agencies (MOST and NSFC), in order to assist Australian applicants and their Chinese partners prepare applications. The Chinese websites already carry the appropriate contact details for the Australian funding agency (DIISR).

It was agreed that China will host the next JSTC in 2010. Details will be established through working level discussions.