CAS provides $268m for B&R science projects

BEIJING - The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has provided over 1.8 billion yuan (about $268 million) for Belt and Road (B&R) science and technology projects since the B&R Initiative was proposed in 2013, said CAS President Bai Chunli on Friday.

Bai made the remarks at a press conference on the science and technology cooperation between China and B&R countries.

The Alliance of International Science Organization (ANSO) was launched in the Belt and Road Region last November. According to Bai, ANSO members recently clarified its vision and mission, pledging to make it an international organization with great influence in promoting, organizing and carrying out Sci-tech innovation.

The first 37 ANSO members have formed the ANSO Action Plan for 2019-2020. It plans to set up awards, scholarships, industry associations and joint training projects, in order to build a great mechanism and platform for sci-tech cooperation, meet common challenges and promote sustainable development.

Meanwhile, the CAS has trained nearly 5,000 high-level Sci-tech talents for B&R countries and regions, including more than 1,500 with Ph.D. or master degrees in science and engineering. Many of them have returned home and become a new force in building the B&R.

Bai said the CAS, based on the principle of achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration, has built nine overseas science and education centers in B&R countries and regions and the tenth center is currently in the works.

He noted that the overseas centers have become significant platforms to carry out scientific collaborative projects, helping to resolve livelihood issues in those countries and regions.

Bai noted that the CAS has initiated more than 100 scientific and technological cooperation projects to support the green development along the B&R.

The CAS has also set up a special fund for transferring scientific and technological achievements along the B&R.

Besides, it also cooperated with more than 100 high-tech enterprises and research institutions to establish the Belt and Road Industry Alliance to serve the regional economic and social development.

Also on Friday, a research report on the Pan-Third Pole Environment Study for a Green Silk Road was published. The program was launched by the CAS in 2018 to focus on the natural resources, ecosystem, climate change, and biodiversity in the region, which provides important scientific insights for green and sustainable development.

Yao Tandong, CAS member and director of the program, said at the press conference that China has gained experience in ecological and environmental protection such as tackling the change of deserts and ecology conservation in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

"We hope these successful experiences can be used in other countries along the Belt and Road. A group of Chinese scientists have participated in the building of an eco-environmental protection park in Kazakhstan as well as a global allium garden in Uzbekistan," Yao said.