On November 2, 2016, Yin Hejun, Vice Minister of Science and Technology, met with Adam Cohen, Head of the U.S. delegation to the ITER Council. The two sides made extensive exchanges on a number of important issues, including the latest progress of the ITER project, the project baseline as well as bilateral S&T cooperation.
Vice Minister Yin Hejun welcomed the U.S. delegation, saying the Chinese government has been firmly committed to the ITER project. He spoke highly of the achievements made under the leadership of Dr. Bernard Bigot, Director-General of the ITER Organization, and hailed the unremitting efforts made by the U.S. to push for project management reforms at the ITER Organization and ITER Council. During the meeting, VM Yin Hejun said nuclear energy, including nuclear fission and fusion, is of great significance to environmental protection and energy security in the future, and the ITER project will have a profound impact on the human society to advance the development of nuclear fusion technologies and satisfy our future energy needs. The current problems and challenges faced by the ITER project call for all participating countries to work together and find appropriate solutions. A crucial step is that all parties must strengthen execution of the plans and solutions rolled out by the ITER Organization. The two sides also exchanged views on the agenda of the next Clean Energy Ministerial and the next Mission Innovation Ministerial.

Dr. Cohen highly appreciated the role of the Chinese government in implementing the ITER project and facilitating multinational cooperation on the initiative. He said he agreed with Vice Minister Yin Hejun on the significant missions of the ITER at the current stage, and expressed the hope to work together with China and other participants to fulfill the ambitious goals outlined for the ITER project. Finally, the two sides expressed the willingness to continue supporting the ITER project and work along with other participants to push forward the project and develop it into a model of international cooperation and joint research on mega science project.