Chinese President Jiang Zemin made the remark here Tuesday afternoon in a meeting with scientists who are participating in the Human Genome Project(HGP).

China hopes to further its international scientific and technological cooperation, and shoulder more responsibilities for and make more contributions to human progress, he said.

The scientists represent six countries consisting of the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Japan and China and 16 laboratories worldwide and they are scheduled to attend the 10th strategic meeting on human genome sequencing in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province.

Jiang said that the HGP, a great project in the history of science, is of utmost importance for humans to learn more about themselves and enhance the development of life and medical sciences.

As a result of the concerted efforts of the governments and scientists of the six countries, the HGP has set an example for international scientific and technological cooperation, noted Jiang.

He went on to say that the Chinese government has always supported the HGP since it is a scientific project concerning human progress and harmonious co-existence around the globe.

Citing that Chinese scientists declared on August 26 their completion of China's HGP assignment ahead of schedule, Jiang said China is delighted to make its contributions to such a great project.

Jiang said he wishes the meeting success and smooth completion of the clear mapping of the human genome sequence.

Francis Collins, general coordinator of the HGP, said that China plays an important role in the HGP, the cooperation between China and the HGP is satisfactory, and he hopes that international cooperation in this field be continued.

Scientists expressed their delight at the completion of the HGP's Chinese part, and their admiration for Chinese scientists' efforts, and said that the completion of the Chinese part is important for China's and the world's scientific development.

(Xinhua News Agency 08/28/2001)