On January 18, 2022, the 6th China-Sweden Joint Committee Meeting on Scientific and Technological Cooperation was held via video link. The meeting was co-chaired by Dai Gang, Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, and David Edvardsson, Director-General of the department of Research Policy at the Swedish Ministry of Education and Research.

 

Director-General Dai Gang pointed out that Sweden was the first Western country to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. In 1978, the two countries signed the  Intergovernmental Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation. Over the past 40-plus years, bilateral cooperation in science, technology and innovation (STI) has grown steadily and produced fruitful results. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Chinese and Swedish science communities have carried out practical and effective cooperation through joint R&D, online exchanges and in other forms, which have contributed to the joint fight against the pandemic. Director-General Dai Gang presented the latest development of China’s STI policies, plans and laws, and made suggestions for future cooperation with regard to the synergy of strategies, priority areas of cooperation, regional and science parks, scientist exchanges, and joint funding mechanisms.

 

Director-General David Edvardsson echoed the views of Director-General Dai Gang and provided an update on the STI policies of Sweden. He stressed the need of cooperation in tackling global challenges such as climate change and realizing the sustainable development goals, and expressed the hope for the deepening of STI cooperation between the two sides. Director David Edvardsson said there would be a record number of Swedish athletes to the Beijing Winter Olympics.

 

Representatives from the two sides exchanged views on topics including cooperation in priority areas, joint funding mechanisms, inter-agency cooperation, personnel exchange and cooperation in science parks and incubators, and reached a series of consensus on strengthening cooperation in the areas of climate change for achieving carbon neutrality, life science and health, and sustainable development. The two sides also wished the athletes of both countries good performance in the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics.

 

Representatives of the relevant institutions included, on the Chinese side, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Chinese Association for Science and Technology, and the Chinese Embassy in Sweden and, on the Swedish side, the Ministry of Education and Research, the Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation, the Swedish Agency for Innovation Systems, the Swedish Energy Agency, the Swedish Research Council, Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education, the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, the Swedish Incubators & Science Parks, and the Swedish Embassy in China.