Fang Xiangming, deputy general manager of the China Aerospace
Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), the primary initiator
China's participation in the Galileo project, said that the country
welcomes the EU's satellite navigation system as a significant
boost for industries like transport and communications. Fang was
speaking at the China-France Science and Technology Innovation
Forum, which opened on Monday in Beijing.
The 30-satellite system, which has a navigational fix accurate
to within a meter, will provide safe, reliable and accurate
navigational information for Chinese users in civil aviation,
railways, waterways and road transport.
CASIC and its French peer are working jointly in China on an
information retrieval system for the project.
Fang noted that China and France have enormous room for
increased cooperation in such areas as satellite navigation. China
offers a huge market for applications and France possesses advanced
technology and extensive experience.
Sponsored by the European Commission and the European Space
Agency, the Galileo project is a satellite positioning and
navigation system to be used for civil purposes.
The project is scheduled to be operational by 2008, and is
expected to outperform the existing Global Positioning System (GPS)
of the United States with more precise information and wider
coverage.
Vice-minister of Science and Technology Cheng Jinpei said at the
forum that Chinese and French scientists have been working together
since the two governments signed scientific cooperation agreements
in 1978. In addition to aerospace projects, China hopes to increase
its collaboration with France in agriculture, information
technology, new energy resources and disease prevention and
treatment.
The two countries are building joint laboratories for
universities and research institutes to develop new
technologies.
In its scientific blueprint for the next 15 years, China will
concentrate on basic research and seek breakthroughs in energy and
water resources, environmental protection, agricultural
restructuring, manufacturing and others. It will also improve
research facilities and place more emphasis on developing
technological products that are competitive in the world market,
said Cheng.
Philippe Guelluy, France's ambassador to China, noted that the
two countries have worked together in IT and set up a research
center at Tongji
University in Shanghai. The center will offer specialized
training programs from 2006.
The two-day China-France Science and Technology Innovation Forum
is the largest science event scheduled during the ongoing French
Culture Year in China. Some 300 representatives from the two
countries are attending, China Central Television reported.
China and France signed a series of science cooperation
agreements during French President Jacques Chirac's visit to China
last month.
(China.org.cn, China Daily November 2, 2004)