Portugal and China establish five areas of scientific cooperation

Portugal and China have today defined five priority areas of scientific and technological cooperation, including energy, health and blue economy, during the first meeting of the Joint Commission on Science and Technology between the two countries since 2019.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation sent to the Lusa Agency, the X Mixed Commission, held in Beijing, ended with the signing of a joint statement by Portuguese Minister Fernando Alexandre and Chinese counterpart Yin Hejun.

The five priority areas identified are the ocean and blue economy; energy, climate, batteries and hydrogen; agriculture, bioeconomy and food; health, healthy ageing and medical technologies; and the conservation of cultural heritage through science.

The meeting marked the resumption of the work of the Joint Committee, interrupted since 2019, whose reactivation was agreed in June this year, during a previous visit by Fernando Alexandre to China.

Another result of the meeting was the commitment to develop, from 2027 onwards, a Joint Action Programme Portugal – China for Science and Innovation, which should frame bilateral cooperation by 2030.

According to the Ministry, the two countries will hold technical meetings to define a framework for collaboration that may include bilateral mechanisms for funding research and innovation, mobility of researchers, support for technological cooperation between scientific institutions and companies, as well as networks of joint laboratories and research consortia.

The Communication does not specify the amounts of funding envisaged or identifies concrete projects to be developed under the future programme.

The joint declaration also underlines the importance of ensuring conditions for “safe, transparent and reciprocal” scientific cooperation, with respect for academic freedom, scientific integrity and applicable legislation in each country, including European standards in the case of Portugal.

The two countries also recognised the need to link cooperation in research and innovation with dialogue in the field of higher education, in particular to strengthen academic mobility and promote the co-tutel of doctorates.

In the statement released before the trip, the Portuguese Ministry had announced its intention to resume negotiations on an agreement on mutual recognition of academic degrees.

The objective, he said, was to establish the correspondence between the degrees of degree, master's degree and doctorate, to facilitate the mobility of students and researchers.

The statement released today does not, however, mention concrete progress in the negotiations on this issue.

The official visit of Fernando Alexandre and Secretary of State for Science and Innovation, Helena Cannon, includes passages through Tianjin, Beijing and Shanghai, with meetings at universities, research centers and Chinese technology companies.

The Portuguese delegation includes the presidents of the Agency for Research and Innovation (AI2), João Barros, the Institute for Higher Education (IES), Joaquim Mourato, the Council of Rectors of the Portuguese Universities (CRUP), Luís Ferreira, and the Coordinator Council of the Polytechnic Higher Institutes (CCISP), Luís Loures, as well as rectors and researchers from 15 Portuguese institutions.

In Tianjin, the entourage visited Tianjin Foreign Studies University, the University of Nankai, including their College of Life Sciences, and the research and development centre of the Launch Design automotive company.

The travel agenda also includes visits to the University of Beijing, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and research institutions in the areas of biology, robotics and marine sciences.

In Shanghai, a visit is planned to the Joint International Centre for Research in Marine Sciences, created in partnership with the Sea Sciences Centre of the University of Algarve, and the ULisboa School – Shanghai University, established in 2021 through a partnership between the universities of Lisbon and Shanghai.

The joint declaration provides for technical meetings to be held in 2027 and admits that Portugal will host the XI meeting of the Joint Committee on Science and Technology in 2028.