（Photo by Tian Feng/MOSTIC）

On September 6, 2018, Zhang Jianguo, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology and Administrator of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, met with a visiting Norwegian delegation led by Jonas Gahr Støre, Leader of the Norwegian Labor Party. The two sides exchanged views on the development of science, technology and innovation (STI) in their respective countries and bilateral cooperation.  

Vice Minister Zhang Jianguo briefed Mr. Jonas Gahr Støre and his delegation on the development of STI in China and said that China is proactively implementing the strategy of innovation-driven development. At the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and this year‘s two sessions, China unveiled systemic plans for STI and will further build a national innovation system to provide system support and institutional guarantee for the development of science and technology innovation. Vice Minister Zhang Jianguo remarked that China was willing to work with Norway to implement the Action Plan for STI Cooperation of the two countries, carry out practical project cooperation, establish characteristic fields of cooperation, and continue to strengthen exchanges and cooperation among researchers of the two countries.

Mr. Jonas Gahr Støre thanked Vice Minister Zhang Jianguo for his hospitality and said that strengthening STI cooperation with China is a consensus view in Norway. The two sides also exchanged ideas on the impact of artificial intelligence, robotics and digital technology on social development.

Present at the meeting were Deputy Director-General (DDG) Zhang Xu of the Department of Innovation and Development, DDG Chen Linhao and Deputy Inspector Zheng Shimin of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Technology, DDG Zhou Rongguo of the Seventh Bureau of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, and Deputy Leader Hadia Tajik of the Norwegian Labor Party.