EU-China research cooperation could boost IST progress, says Liikanen
Cooperation between the EU and China in the area of IST (information society technologies) research could boost technological progress, according to Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen. Speaking at the Euro-China 2002 Information Society Forum in Beijing, China, on 16 April, Commissioner Liikanen said joint research efforts, possibly in the context of the EU's IST programme, 'could lead to major technological advances.' He added that cooperation could also help to assess China's potential for providing human resources with IT skills and technologies that could complement those developed in Europe. Mr Liikanen highlighted three areas where increased partnership between China and Europe could be particularly beneficial - mobile communications, technologies for digital television and advanced smart card technologies. He said the establishment of broadband networks linking the European high speed Internet network GEANT with Asia could help boost joint research efforts and enable China and Europe to take better advantage of funds dedicated to research and development in the next Framework programme for research, FP6. He added that through joint efforts in preparing for the 2008 Olympics, the information and communication industries in China and Europe could help contribute to the event's success. Mr Liikanen also emphasised that research and development activities being carried out under the EU's IST programme are open to non-European participants. He also welcomed the decision of the Chinese Ministry of science and technology to provide financial support to Chinese partners in the IST projects, and said he was optimistic that the number of joint projects in this area will increase.