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Hu promises closer science co-op

By Li Xing (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-02-11 19:29

China is willing to push forward science and technology cooperation with Saudi Arabia, visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao said Wednesday.

Hu made the remarks during a visit to King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), where Chinese and Saudi scientists are working together to unravel the genetic code of the date palm, which Arabs call the "king of the oasis".

By mapping out its genetic structure, the scientists hope to determine its genome organizations and all its genetic characteristics, Yu Jun, professor and associate director of the Beijing Institute for Genomics (BIG), under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said yesterday.

It will also provide basic information for other species within the Phoenix genus and enable scientists to work out ways to control the red palm weevil - the most destructive and dangerous pest in the growing areas for coconut and date palms in Asia, Yu said while introducing the project to President Hu Jintao during his visit to King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST).

The Date Palm Genome project is viewed as a landmark mission between Chinese and Saudi scientists. It is the first research project under the Saudi-Sino Science and Technology Collaboration Framework Memorandum signed in 1996. It is also the largest life science research project funded by the Saudi Arabia government.

Wishing the joint genome project a success, Hu said China is willing to push forward the science and technology cooperation with Saudi Arabia.

With the arrival of 11 Chinese scientists from Yu's institute six months ago, the project has provided good experience for their Saudi colleagues, Dr Morahim S Al-Mssallem told China Daily.

The scientists have so far set up for three platforms for starting genomic and bioinformatics studies, nutrition and metabolism analysis, and research into the date palm's genetic breeding and biotechnology.