On May 7, 2021, The 20th Joint Committee Meeting on Science and Technology Cooperation between China and Denmark was held via video link. Ye Dongbai, Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, and Nils Agerhus, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science co-chaired this meeting.
At the meeting, each side gave a briefing on their science, technology and innovation policies and development, reviewed the cooperation achievements between the two countries since the last Joint Commission meeting, stressed the important role played by science, technology and innovation cooperation in growing China-Denmark relations in recent years, and applauded the new progress achieved in bilateral cooperation since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Director-General Ye Dongbai said that Denmark is the only Nordic country that has established a comprehensive strategic partnership with China. In May 2020, leaders of China and Denmark exchanged congratulatory messages and agreed to take the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations as a new starting point to push for new development of China-Denmark relations. Since COVID-19 outbreak, Minister of Science and Technology Wang Zhigang and Vice Minister Huang Wei have maintained close communication with Danish Ambassador to China Thomas Østrup Møller and other Danish officials and the two sides have continued to advance bilateral cooperation in science, technology and innovation through high-level engagements. Director-General Ye Dongbai pointed out that the Ministry of Science and Technology will contribute to the goal of carbon neutrality announced by President Xi Jinping at the UN General Assembly by stepping up science and technology support, and that there is a lot that China and Denmark can achieve together on carbon neutrality. Looking to the future, Director-General Ye Dongbai suggested that the two sides should deepen strategic alignment under the Joint Commission mechanism and continue to strengthen bilateral science and technology cooperation platforms, and promote the exchanges among scientists.
Deputy Permanent Secretary Agerhus echoed Director-General Ye’s views and said that Denmark values its good cooperation with China in the field of science, technology and innovation. Over the years, Denmark-China science and technology cooperation has produced fruitful results at both governmental and institutional levels, and the number of co-authored papers has increased by more than 400% since 2010. Going forward, Denmark looks forward to enhancing cooperation with China in areas of mutual interest such as life sciences and health and green research, and explore green solutions to global problems.
Representatives from both sides, including the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Embassy in Denmark, the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science, the Danish Embassy in China, and the Danish Consulate General in Shanghai, attended the meeting.
