On January 18, 2017, a delegation led by Minister Wan Gang of the Ministry of Science and Technology set off from Chile to inspect China’s Antarctic Great Wall Station. Minister Wan Gang was entrusted by Vice Premier Liu Yandong, who once visited the Station in 2010. During the visit, Minister Wan Gang gave his sincere regards to the expedition team members at the Station.

The delegation visited the main office area of the Great Wall Station, had in-depth exchanges with scientists in the lab, learned about research progress at the Station, held talks with experts in various fields and heard their work reports. Minister Wan Gang said that scientific expedition to the Antarctic was an important part of China’s science and technology programs and a necessary requirement for China to understand the unknown world and participate in international cooperation. The establishment of the Great Wall Station marked the start of China’s Antarctic scientific expeditions and was of great significance for China to gain a deep understanding of the Antarctic and cope with climate change, environmental pollution and other common challenges. Attaching great importance to scientific research on polar regions, the Ministry of Science and Technology will continue to support the program during the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan period. Minister Wan Gang expressed his high regards for scientific expedition members for their contributions to China’s Antarctic expeditions and science and technology progress. He also expressed the hope that all expedition members would continue their expedition and research and make greater contributions to human civilization.

Antarctic cooperation was one of the important topics of the 9th Meeting of the China-Chile Joint Committee on Intergovernmental Cooperation in Science and Technology held on January 17, 2017. During their stay at King George Island, the delegation led by Minister Wan Gang also visited Chile’s Escudero Station, listened to the introduction to relevant research projects by the Chilean side and held in-depth exchanges with the Chilean side on Antarctic cooperation through joint research, personnel exchanges and so on. In addition, the delegation also visited Russia’s Bellingshausen Station.

Members of the delegation included Wu Yuanbin, Director General of Science and Technology for Social Development, Ye Dongbai, Director General of International Cooperation, and other officials of the Ministry of Science and Technology.