Beijing will fully support international scientific cooperation against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), said Liu Qi, secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Tuesday.
Liu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, was speaking during a meeting with David H. Ho, director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in the United States.
Beijing had been endeavoring to contain the disease, but only scientific breakthroughs could ultimately eradicate SARS, Liu said.
Beijing welcomed international cooperation in bio-medical research and would promote scientific research in fighting SARS in the interests all humanity, Liu said.
Since SARS could recur periodically, it was necessary to promote international cooperation and set up a global supervision system, said David H. Ho.
(Xinhua News Agency May 13, 2003)