Dr. TAN Tieniu, Vice Secretary-General and Director of the Bureau of International Cooperation of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) met with Prof Dale Sanders, Director of the John Innes Centre （JIC）, and Dr. Alan Giles, Chair of the JIC Business Development Group and Norwich Research Park Director, in the afternoon of November 20.

Dr. XUE Yongbiao, the Director of the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) of CAS, hosted their visit. Dr. HAN Bin, Vice President of Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (SIBS) of CAS, and Dr. XUE Hongwei, Director of Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology (SIPPE), SIBS of CAS, attended the meeting.

They made a formal discussion on establishment of a joint research centre among the John Innes Centre, SIPPE and IGDB. The centre will focus on crop improvement or natural products, and will provide an outstanding training environment, with opportunities for exchange of personnel between CAS and JIC. Moreover, the