Recently, Vice Minister LI Xueyong attended the opening ceremony of the China Office of Research Councils UK (RCUK), jointly cutting the ribbon with Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills John Denham at the ceremony.

LI, on behalf of MOST, congratulated on the opening of the RCUK China Office and expressed his welcome to Mr. John Denham’s first visit to China in his capacity of Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills. He said that UK is a major innovative nation and an important partner for China in S&T and innovation, with great advantages in scientific research and human resources. RCUK has a long history and great achievements in supporting scientific research and human resource development. Its effort to set up the first office outside Europe in Beijing demonstrates how the science community in UK values China-UK partnership. MOST welcomes and appreciates such efforts, and will work closely with UK, in order to push their cooperation in science and innovation to a new high.

RCUK is a leading funding agency for scientific research in the UK, with 8 research councils and 12,000 employees. Its scope of funding extends to various areas, including medicine, biology, physics, chemistry, engineering, social sciences, economics, art and humanities. The funding, ￡2.8billion annually, comes from the Parliament and goes to about 30,000 researchers in the universities, research institutes affiliated to the RUCK and international research centers, including 15,000 Ph. D candidates.