An initiative aiming at bringing UK-Chinese innovation expertise together for business collaboration was launched on Wednesday here in the British capital.

The "China Tomorrow" innovation & technology initiative, first announced by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Britain at the end of January, was launched jointly by China-Britain Business Council (CBBC), the Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills and the UK Trade &Investment.

"It is just over seven weeks since the most recent visit to the UK by (Chinese) Premier Wen Jiabao. But he has set in train a flurry of activity that has already seen a procurement mission to the UK led by China's Minister of Commerce Chen Deming; and another Mofcom (Ministry of Commerce) delegation last week exploring the opportunities to invest in the UK," said Peter Budd, CBBC vice chairman.

He noted that these events signify "the urgency with which China is responding to help avert what could become a prolonged economic recession."

According to Budd, "innovation" has become a much-used word in China's policy statements, which set to spend 2.5 percent of the country's gross domestic product on research and development by 2020.

Budd believes that UK commercial and academic organizations are well placed to work with China in the fields of knowledge transfer, intellectual property rights (IPR) protection, funding and commercialization.

"In the long run, such collaboration will greatly enhance the opportunities for sustainable business for the economic benefit of both countries," noted Budd.

Ian Pearson, economic and business minister at the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, hailed the "sheer scale" of contacts between the two countries since an agreement on science and technology cooperation was signed three decades ago.

Citing the strong bilateral ties, Pearson said the win-win approach taken by the two sides has been "unprecedented" and business relations will work to enhance "our strategic partnership."

During the launch, Chinese Ambassador to the UK Fu Ying briefed the hundred or so participants on the progress of IPR protection in China as well as the role of innovation in fighting an economic downturn.

She urged businesses and academics to use the current economic climate as an opportunity to boost innovation collaboration and take advantage of Britain's experiences in research and science.

The launch event also offered workshop and discussions for business and enterprise representatives to share their experiences in China in the aspect of science and technology cooperation, while experts provided their views on how to enter the Chinese market.

Chris Cotton, CBBC director, said the initiative will serve as a bridge for British and Chinese businesses to look for long-term collaboration with the help of the Chinese government.

Source: Xinhua