China and Europe launched a remote sensing program in Xiamen City, east China's Fujian Province, on Tuesday.

The program, dubbed Dragon, is mapped out by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and the European Space Agency (ESA). It is the largest Sino-European cooperation on remote sensing.

Nearly 140 Chinese and European scientists will work for the three-year project, which will cover the fields of agricultural application, water resources, flood monitoring and pollution surveillance.

Over 50 Chinese experts and 48 European representatives attended the opening ceremony. They will also hold a three-day symposium on remote sensing.

On Sept. 30 of 2003, ESA proposed to carry out the program with China and named it "Dragon Program" at a conference in Italy. Under the program, China could introduce more remote sensing technology from the ESA.

(Xinhua News Agency April 29, 2004)