Xu Guanhua, minister of science and technology, said the two sides should also establish a cooperation foundation to support collaboration in both basic science and high technology.

His remarks came at the 10th China-US Joint Commission Meeting on Science and Technology Cooperation, which opened in Beijing Thursday and ends Friday.

Science officials on both sides are discussing developing programs on energy, ecosystem, environment, health, agriculture, food and science dissemination.

Xu said China has opened its national high technology and basic scientific research programs to the European Union (EU) while the EU has opened its important scientific framework plans to China.

"We hope the China-EU cooperation mode can be applied to Sino-US scientific cooperation," Xu said.

Xu said the Chinese Government will give more support to scientists to develop patented nanotechnology, ecosystem protection, earth science, space and information technologies.

The Chinese Government highly regards the development of new technologies and is willing to make a strong commitment in the name of progress.

Xu said China promotes scientific cooperation with foreign countries on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and respect of intellectual property rights.

John Marburger, science assistant to US President George W. Bush, said the United States, though a developed country, also expects to benefit from scientific cooperation with China.

He said Xu's suggestions are ambitious but realistic and worthy of consideration.

"We take pride in the China-US scientific co-operation of the last two decades," Marburger said.

World peace requires world prosperity, and prosperity requires science and technology, he said.

The 10th China-US Joint Commission Meeting on Science and Technology Cooperation is being held in response to the joint statement reached in February by Chinese President Jiang Zemin and US President George W. Bush during Bush's China visit.

In the statement, the two leaders agreed that China and the United States would enhance collaborations in economy and trade, energy, science and technology and AIDS prevention and would hold three commission meetings about science, economy and business this year.

Sino-US scientific cooperation officially started in January 1979 under the Sino-US Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement, signed by senior Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and former US President Jimmy Carter.

The two sides have set up a system called the Joint Commission Meeting for Science and Technology Cooperation to help plan and coordinate governmental science cooperation.

(China Daily April 26, 2002)