BEIJING, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Scientists from China and Britain agree to continue and strengthen research cooperation in the fields of food security and natural medicinal products.

 

Two research institutes, the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology and Centre for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and the John Innes Centre in the United Kingdom, have signed a new 5-year agreement to bolster research cooperation through the joint Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS).

 

Representatives from the three research institutions renewed the agreement during a recent video conference, the CEPAMS said Monday.

 

Launched in 2014, the CEPAMS has three campuses in Beijing, Shanghai and Norwich. It focuses on the improvement of food crops and the production of high-value, beneficial products from plants and microbes.

 

As of 2019, the CEPAMS staff has launched 29 collaborative research projects in life sciences and published 19 papers in international journals, the CEPAMS said.

 

The next five years will see an expansion of CEPAMS laboratories and research groups in China and a renewed emphasis on harnessing the strengths of Sino-UK science collaboration for global good.

 

Under the new agreement, the number of scientists at the CEPAMS will increase from 110 to more than 200 by 2025. Areas of research will include climate resilience in food crops and unlocking the anti-cancer potential of traditional Chinese medicine, according to a source of the center. (Source: Xinhua)