China will pass on its technical knowledge to developing nations as it becomes a scientific power.

The head of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Lu Yongxiang said China was now in a position to provide such support in tandem with other foreign aid programs.

"Previously, China's foreign aid programs are more focused on infrastructure construction and providing medical assistance for the underdeveloped countries, but the efforts to help them increase their scientific and technological (S&T) capacity have more long-term benefits," told Lu.

Lu made the remarks on the sidelines of the annual three-day working conference of the CAS, which started yesterday. With more than 30,000 scientists and nearly 100 institutes, the CAS is the largest research body in China.

Lu said the CAS would offer grants to fund young scientists from developing countries to conduct joint research in the CAS, provide PhD scholarships for poor nation students and send Chinese scientists abroad to help develop key research programs.

Each year, the CAS offers 50 PhD scholarships through the Trieste, the Italian-based Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) to students from developing nations for them to study in China.

For outbound joint research programs, the CAS is building a botanic park in Cambodia, helping the nation maintain its rich biodiversity. In the north, CAS scientists assist Mongolia and Kazakhstan to develop geological studies. CAS also sends its researchers to Venezuela to study the prevention of mud rock flows.

Lu said CAS was also exploring joint research programs with South American and African nations, as one form of foreign assistance.

"Our efforts have been encouraged by the ministries of foreign affairs and commerce, and I believe China's S&T assistance to other developing countries will be enhanced," Lu said.

He admitted, however, that major international exchanges of the CAS were performed with developed nations like the United States, European Union nations, Russia and Japan because China was still catching up with the world's scientific frontiers.

In his report to the CAS annual meeting, Vice CAS President Chen Zhu said that the joint research between CAS scientists and their foreign counterparts had become more frequent.

In 2005, international joint research papers co-authored by CAS scientists reached 4,393, nearly double that in 2001.

In 2005 and 2006, the CAS obtained Chinese government international scientific cooperation grants of up to 400 million yuan ($51.9 million).

(China Daily March 20, 2007)