At the Fourth China Hi-Tech Fair which was held in Shenzhen on October 12-17, officials from the European Union (EU) have expressed a strong willingness to cooperate with China in fields of high technology.

The EU is extremely optimistic about the development of China's information industry. The EU will cooperate with the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) to initiate 100 new cooperative projects annually. The EU will also bring the 6th EU Framework Program for Research and Technological Development (FP6) to China. Organizations in China will be able to obtain funds from EU countries. The EU believes that the FP6 will offer new opportunities for hi-tech cooperation between China and its member nations.

According to Doctor Jurgen Sanders, first counselor of the science & technology delegation of the European Commission to China, the information industry in China is characterized by an enormous market and a huge manufacturing base. These two features are very conducive to the development of an information industry.

By cooperating in the information industry, the EU and China have reached a consensus on a GSM criterion for mobile telephones, which has not only brought added convenience to both sides, but also reduced the concerning costs, laying a good foundation for future cooperation.

Manfred Horvat, director of the Bureau for International Research and Technology Cooperation (BIT) for Austria has brought the FP6 to China on behalf of the EU. Funding for the program has exceeded 160 billion yuan (US$19.3 billion). China will become one of the main target countries of this cooperation program. Both organizations and scientific researchers in China can obtain the funds from the EU.

The priorities of the FP6 will be given to life sciences, genomics, nanotechnologies and information society technologies, among others. Manfred Horvat said the development of the information industry in China is most promising. Therefore the emphasis of cooperation between China and the EU will be placed on information society technologies. The two sides can integrate their research in order to solve the demands of people and enterprises.

Doctor Jurgen Sanders stressed that currently China should improve not only its financial environment but also its technological environment in order to attract investment from EU companies into China. EU companies tend to attach greater importance to the technological environment. EU companies also hope their investments into China will be of significant size and scope.

Doctor Jurgen Sanders also pointed out that many EU countries know little about China due to a lack of long-term communication. Therefore it has been a rather sudden revelation for them that China has become such an important trading partner for the EU.

The "lighter dispute" between China and the EU indicates the importance of communication. Some European countries had stipulated a regulation that the import of lighters less than two Euros must be subject to new safety criterion in order to guarantee their quality. The main manufacturing base of these low price lighters is in Wenzhou, a harbor city on China's southeast coast. After investigation and communication, the EU found this region was able to manufacture the products at a high quality and low cost. Finally, the EU modified their regulation.

It is reported the EU will organize a delegation of small and medium-sized enterprises to visit Beijing later this month.

Background

The China Hi-Tech Fair was a Chinese government initiative to promote scientific and technological exchanges and economic cooperation between China and the rest of the world. It was first held in Shenzhen in 1999. With 34,450 projects on display, the previous three hi-tech fairs have signed contracts worth of US$25.452 billion.

With 7,749 projects on display, the China Hi-Tech Fair 2002 has attracted 88 delegations, 3,691 exhibitors and 1,124 investment institutions from 40 countries and regions as well as 42 multinational companies.

(china.org.cn by Wang Qian, October 18, 2002)