China set to join the Galileo programme
The European Union has reached an agreement with China that paves the way for the country's participation in the Galileo programme, Europe's global satellite navigation system. A draft text formalising the collaboration was drawn up in Beijing on 18 September, following a meeting between François Lamoureux, Director General of Energy and Transport at the European Commission, and Shi Dinghuan, Secretary General of China's Ministry of Science and Technology. The agreement will now be sent to the EU Transport Council and the Chinese State Council for formal approval. Welcoming the agreement, Commission Vice President Loyola de Palacio, who is responsible for the Galileo programme, said: 'China will help Galileo to become the major world infrastructure for the growing market of location services.' The Chinese Minister for Science and Technology, Xu Guanhua, pledged that: 'China supports Galileo and plans to participate actively in its construction and application for mutual benefits.' The agreement itself provides for cooperative activities in the fields of science and technology, industrial manufacture, and service and market development, as well as standardisation and certification issues. It also provides for a significant financial contribution from China by granting it a stakeholding in the Galileo joint undertaking. Finally, the EU and China, together with European Space Agency, have established a training, cooperation and information centre for Galileo activities in Beijing. The 'China-Europe global navigation satellite system technical training and cooperation centre' (CENC), was inaugurated during a ceremony at the Zhongguancun hi-tech zone on 19 September.
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China