China and India sign strategic memorandum on science & technology cooperation
The two countries that will largely determine our future, China and India, have just signed their first ever ministerial-level memorandum of understanding for cooperation on science and technology. India's Minister for Science, Technology and Earth Sciences Kapil Sibal and his Chinese counterpart Xu Guanhua signed the MoU after they held talks in Beijing, as part of a series of meetings marking the 'India-China Friendship Year 2006'. Current Indo-Chinese cooperation in the science and technology field falls under a rather old inter-governmental S&T agreement signed between the two countries in Beijing during the visit of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1988. Meanwhile, the world's political situation has changed dramatically and both countries' economies have grown impressively but face a persistent energy crisis. The MoU comes as political relations between the former Asian rivals are warming and as bilateral trade is increasing rapidly.
The agreement is important because energy, climate change, biotechnology and agronomy are high on the agenda. The cooperation is based on both public interest and pure science and technology 'pillars':
More information:
The agreement is important because energy, climate change, biotechnology and agronomy are high on the agenda. The cooperation is based on both public interest and pure science and technology 'pillars':
- Environment and energy: the two governments hope to collaborate on solving environmental problems by exchanging India and China's unique experiences amidst rising energy prices. Cooperation on research into alternative transport energies to combat energy insecurity and pollution in urban areas will be of strategic importance.
- Biotechnology and agronomy: research into genomics, meteorology and biomass technologies have been singled out as concrete fields for cooperation. India has a lot to offer in agronomic sciences, considering the fact that the contribution of agriculture in India's gross domestic product (GDP) at 24% was higher than China's 14%, Mr Sibal said.
- Climate change: India would stand to gain from China's expertise in climate change mitigation strategies (even though it is not clear which 'strategies' are being referred to here)
- Nanotechnology: a "Nano-Science Forum" will be created, with research into applications in the field of energy technology being one component
"When I think of brand China, I think the C stands for capacity and capability. Brand China is like a tsunami that floods the world markets. China's capacities are unmatched."Sibal further noted that Sino-Indian trade has already reached US$18 billion. China is destined to become India's largest trading partner. He added that China has a population of 1.3 billion and that India's has reached 1.1 billion. "If you add the association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN), the population of this region will touch 3 billion which means that we constitute half of the world's population." "So we have the market and we have the manpower. What we need is the technology. So let us start an Indo-China technology partnership. Let the strategic partnership for friendship become a strategic partnership for science and technology."
"When I think of India, I stands for innovation. Can you imagine what will happen if the I in India and the C in China were to get together? The innovation of India and the capacities and capabilities of China can overtake world trade."
More information:
- Zee News: India, China sign MoU on science and technology cooperation - Sept. 7, 2006
- The Hindu: 'India, China trade ties can overtake world trade' - Sept. 7, 2006
- Financial Express India: 'Indo-China combo can overtake world trade’ - Sept. 7, 2006
- Indian Express: India, China sign MoU on technology cooperation - Sept. 7, 2006
- The Hindu: India, China to work towards 'win-win' strategic ties in S&T - Sept. 7, 2006
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