Ian Diamond, chair of the RCUK Executive Group, said, “China is the obvious choice for the RCUK’s first overseas office. China’s growing importance in the world is clear, but overcoming geographical, cultural and funding-system barriers needs sustained dialogue and cooperation on many fronts.
The RCUK Office, located on the Tsinghua Science Park, Haidian, northwest Beijing, has three tasks: To improve knowledge about each country's research systems and strengths, via a dedicated website; to identify the scope for closer cooperation between the UK Research Councils and the Chinese research support agencies; and to develop a programme of activities aimed at lowering the barriers to international research collaboration.
The office is legally autonomous, but will work closely with the UK’s Science and Innovation diplomats based in the British Embassy Beijing and at the Consulate Generals in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing, as well as other UK agencies in China such as the British Council and Department for International Development.
RCUK is to open another office in Washington DC later this month, and proposes to launch a third overseas office in New Delhi in 2008.
The UK and China already collaborate on science and technology projects with more than 5,500 jointly authored papers published between 2001 and 2005. Ongoing projects include research into the feasibility of using carbon capture and storage to reduce emissions from power plants, a prototype pandemic influenza vaccine and a study of how flooding risks are likely to change in China over the next few decades.
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