On 31 October 2016, the China-Australia Young Scientist Exchange Program co-hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and the Australian Department of Industry, Innovation and Science and the China-New Zealand Scientist Exchange Program co-hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment were launched concurrently in Beijing.

Dr.Zhao Xinli, Deputy Director General of China Science and Technology Exchange Center , Mr. Sean Starmer, Science Counselor of Australian Embassy to China and Mr. Al Ross, Science Counselor of New Zealand Embassy to China attended and addressed the opening ceremony. Deputy Director General Zhao applauded the outcomes of China‘s scientist exchange programs with Australia and New Zealand, provided a brief introduction to the Innovation Capability Report of G20 Countries 2015-2016, and encouraged Australian and New Zealand scholars to deepen understanding and friendship with their Chinese partners, advance practical cooperation and become’ambassadors‘for science and technology exchanges in the future.

Representatives from the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Bureau of International Cooperation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Bureau of International Cooperation of the National Natural Science Foundation attended the meeting and introduced China’s science, technology and innovation policies, the ongoing reform of the management of science and technology programs and the scientific and technological cooperation between the Chinese government and the governments of Australia and New Zealand.

The China-Australia Young Scientist Exchange Program has been implemented for ten years since 2006, and the China-New Zealand Scientist Exchange Program has been implemented for seven years since 2009. The two programs have respectively funded more than 200 and 100 outstanding research personnel for visiting each other’s countries for cooperation and exchanges.

The Australian scientists taking part in this year‘s Exchange Program come from the University of Queensland, the RMIT University, the University of Western Australia, etc., covering such fields as material science, environmental science, medicine and biology. The New Zealand scientists taking part in the Exchange Program come from the University of Auckland, Lincoln University, etc., covering such fields as food safety, water resources, non-communicable diseases and other priority areas of China-New Zealand cooperation. After the opening ceremony, 22 young scholars went to Shanghai, Hangzhou, Dalian and Guangzhou separately for a 2-6 week exchange with local Chinese institutions.