Hon Steven Joyce
Minister for Science and Innovation
21 September 2015
NZ-China science partnership celebrated
Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce has today unveiled a plaque at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Guangzhou
in acknowledgment of the strength of science collaboration between New Zealand and China.
The plaque represents the partnership between the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health and New Zealand’s
Maurice Wilkins Centre, which collectively have formed the Joint Centre for Biomedicine.
“China is an important science and innovation partner for New Zealand and the bilateral relationship between the two
countries has been developing steadily over recent years,” Mr Joyce says.
“Through the Joint Research Centre, the two institutions have been collaborating on research in biomedicine, notably in
the development of second-generation anti-cancer drugs. This plaque symbolises our commitment to maintaining this
relationship.”
The Maurice Wilkins Centre is a Centre of Research Excellence hosted by the University of Auckland and acts as a conduit
for New Zealand-wide biomedical researchers to collaborate on projects with their Chinese counterparts.
“In addition to the Joint Centre for Biomedicine, we are also expecting a Memorandum of Understanding between the
University of Auckland and the Guangdong Province Science and Technology Department to be signed later this year, which
will set the framework for establishing new research-based innovation and commercialisation partnerships between New
Zealand and Guangdong.”
New Zealand’s co-operation with China has been strengthening under the Strategic Research Alliance Joint Research
Programme, which is jointly funded by New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and China’s Ministry
of Science and Technology.
“This programme is enabling substantive research collaborations between both countries in the areas of water, food
safety and security and non-communicable diseases,” says Mr Joyce.
The Strategic Research Alliance Joint Research Programme was established in 2010 and leverages science and research
investment from both countries for collaborative work programmes. It currently supports collaborations between Maurice
Wilkins Centre researchers and researchers in China’s Guangdong Province at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and
Health.
ENDS