The United States and China have signed a five-year extension of their bilateral Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement, the State Department said in an April 18 press release.

According to the release, areas for continued and potential future cooperation include:
• Fisheries;
• Emerging and infectious diseases such as avian influenza (bird flu), and HIV/AIDS;
• Earth and atmospheric sciences;
• Basic research in physics, chemistry and agriculture;
• A variety of energy-related areas;
• Geology;
• Health;
• Civil industrial technology; and
• Disaster research.

For more information on U.S. policies, see The United States and China and Global Issues.

---

Following is the text of the press release

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
April 18, 2006
MEDIA NOTE

United States and the People's Republic of China Renew Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement

On April 18, 2006, the United States and the People's Republic of China signed the Protocol Extending the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the People's Republic of China on Cooperation in Science and Technology.   The Protocol will extend for five years the bilateral Science and Technology Cooperation (S&T) Agreement. The Agreement was signed during a ceremony at the White House by Dr. John Marburger, Science Advisor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and China's Minister of Science and Technology Xu Guanhua.  Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific James Keith and Mr. Jiang Ze Guang, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, also attended the ceremony.  The extension enables the continuation of the ongoing exchange of scientific and technical knowledge, the pursuit of advanced and applied scientific and technical projects, and the augmentation of scientific and technical capabilities.

U.S.-China science and technology cooperation began in 1979 during the Carter Administration.  The Agreement is among the longest-standing U.S.-China accords, and includes over 11 U.S. Federal agencies and numerous branches that participate in cooperative exchanges under the S&T Agreement and its nearly 60 protocols, memoranda of understanding, agreements and annexes.  With this extension, bilateral cooperation can continue until 2011.

U.S.-China collaboration has produced valuable basic and applied scientific information, databases, internet-based information sharing networks and excellent cooperative relationships for continuing and new activities.

Areas for continued and potential future cooperation include:

- Fisheries;
- Emerging and infectious diseases (such as avian influenza, and HIV/AIDS);
- Earth and atmospheric sciences;
- Basic research in physics, chemistry, and agriculture;
- A variety of energy-related areas;
- Geology;
- Health;
- Civil industrial technology; and
- Disaster research.