The Ministry of Education, P. R. China (MOE) and JSPS jointly organized a special meeting for monitoring the Core University Programme, which was held on 14 February 2004 in Beijing.

JSPS and MOE launched the Core University Programme in 1998, with its first project being between the Tsukuba and Peking Universities in the area of biosystem, and its second, started in 2001, being between Kyoto and Tsinghua Universities in the area of urban environment engineering. This Core University Program is bilateral in framework. Under it, JSPS provides over JPY25 million annually for each project. To monitor the recent progress of the two projects, JSPS and MOE held this first meeting at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications Hotel. More than fifty researchers engaged in the two core university projects attended.

At the opening session, Ms Zhang Xiuqin, Deputy Director-General of Department of International Cooperation and Exchange, MOE, gave an opening address in which she welcomed all the participants. After that, Mr. Natsuki Omi, Director of International Department of JSPS, offered the following remarks:

"I would like to express my appreciation for the great hospitality arranged by the Ministry of Education, which has been one of the longest and closest partners of JSPS. My thanks goes to all the scientists from Japan and China involved in the Core University Program. Dedicated efforts by coordinators of the program have been especially wonderful, and all of their achievements should be highly praised. To Prof Maekawa of Tsukuba University, Prof Tang of Peking University, Prof Takeda of Kyoto University, and Prof Hao of Tsinghua University, I would like to say a special word of thanks.

"It is a good opportunity for us today to see the progress and achievements of the Core University Programme, which started in 1998 between JSPS and the Ministry of Education. The purpose of the core university framework is to encourage more scientific exchanges between our two countries under specific themes. Both biosystem and urban environmental engineering are important issues, which is why JSPS and the Ministry of Education support these exchanges on a large scale. JSPS will continue to support these activities as long as they remain efficient and effective. So I hope we will learn a lot of useful information about the Core University Programme and its results during the meeting today."

In the meeting, the coordinators from both countries introduced their project's progress and achievements. All reported that the core university program has been of great value in terms of both its scientific outcomes and its promotion of networks and friendships between Japan and China.

To further encourage exchanges, MOE announced that China would set up a new scheme for sending excellent young Chinese scientists to Japanese core universities, under a partnership with the China Scholarship Council (CSC). Though a detailed framework for this initiative is still being worked out, all the meeting participants, including JSPS, welcomed the new idea as it will exert a positive impact on the Core University Program.

From JSPS, Mr. Tsuyoshi Enomoto, Head of Asian Program Division, explained the recent reorganization of JSPS, which now operates under the status of an "independent administrative institution." Under this new status, he said that JSPS will continue to work closely with China, while focusing more closely on the efficient and effective management of its programs and operations. Given this orientation, JSPS made two proposals: (1) To give more flexibility and autonomy to core universities, scrapping unnecessary restrictions formerly agreed to by JSPS and MOE; and (2) to abolish the book donation scheme from Japan to Chinese universities in order to channel all JSPS funding into support for actual exchange implementation. These proposals were discussed in the official meeting between MOE and JSPS, and MOE agreed to them.

In the closing session, MOE and JSPS celebrated the great achievements made to date by the core universities, with anticipation of still more fruitful scientific collaborations between them in the future.

Establishment and evaluation of biosystems with regional resource utilization and application for sustainable development

Japan		China
University of Tsukuba	Core University	Peking University
Prof Takaaki Maekawa, University of Tsukuba	Coordinator	Prof Xiaoyan Tang, Peking University
Tohoku University, Iwate University, Hirosaki Univrsity, Ibaraki University, Chiba University, Niigata University, Nihon University, Kobe University, Shimane University	Cooperative University	Tsinghua University, China Agricultural University, Nankai University, Nanjing University, Ocean University of China, Fudan University, Northwest Sci-Tech University of Agriculture and Forestry, Jilin University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

[Research Subjects]

• Biotechnology for remediation of environment and food production
• Development of sustainable and resource-preventive food production, processing and handling systems
• Evaluation and improvement of soil environment on bio-production-system in arid land
• Amelioration of water resource and application of technique to water quality
• Evaluation and improvement of the effects of air pollution on agricultural and forest production and ecosystems

Urban Environmental Engineering

Japan		China
Kyoto University	Core University	Tsinghua University
Prof Nobuo Takeda, Kyoto University	Coordinator	Prof Jiming Hao, Tsinghua University
Hokkaido University, Tohoku University, Saitama University, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Toyohashi University of Technology, Osaka University, Okayama University, Tottori University, Hiroshima University, Yamaguchi University, Ehime University, Kyushu University, The University of Shiga Prefecture, Osaka City University, Meijo University, Ryukoku Univeristy, Bukkyo University, Setsunan University, Fukuoka Univ.	Cooperative University	Peking University, Nankai University, Dailiang University of Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Kunming University of Science and Technology

[Research Subjects]

• Water Resources and Consumptions, Water Pollution Control
• Air Pollution Control and Innovation of Prevention Technology
• Management of Solid Wastes and Establishment of Recycle System
• Development of Comprehensive Management and Design Manuals on Urban Infrastructure

Meeting Agenda (Saturday, 14 February 2004)

12:00 - 13:30 Reception hosted by MOE

13:30 - 14:00 Opening Remarks

• MOE (Ms. Zhang Xiuqin, Deputy Director General, MOE)
• JSPS (Mr Omi, Director, JSPS)

14:00 - 14:55 Presentations

• CSC (Yang Xinyu, Deputy Secretary General, China Scholarship Council, introducing Chinese policy of sending higher level scholars to Japan)
• MOE (Xue Yanqing, Director of Asia and African Affairs Division, MOE, introducing the meeting of Chinese Working Committee of Sino-Japan Core University Program in the morning)
• JSPS (Mr Enomoto, Head, Asian Programme Division, JSPS, introducing JSPS's policy of Core Universtiy Programme)

14:55 - 15:10 Photo Session

15:10 - 16:10 Group Discussions

• Tsukuba - Peking University Project Group
• Kyoto - Tsinghua University Project Group
• MoE - JSPS official meeting

16:10 - 17:10 Project Progress and Discussion Reports by Two Groups

• Tsukuba University and Peking University
• Kyoto University and Tsinghua University

17:10 - 17:30 Discussion Reports and Closing Remarks

• MOE (Ms Zhang Xiuqin, Deputy Director General, MOE)
• JSPS: (Mr Natsuki Omi, Director, JSPS)