Canada and China signed the Framework Agreement for Cooperation on Science, Technology and Innovation in 2007. Under this framework, Canadian and Chinese partners from industry, academia and government collaborate on joint research and development (R&D) projects in areas of mutual interest.
A Joint Committee composed of representatives from government, industry and academia from both China and Canada has agreed to accelerate commercialization of research in the areas of clean technology, energy, life sciences, sustainable agriculture, information and communications technologies, and civil aviation. The Joint Committee recently agreed to launch a targeted call for proposals for R&D cooperation in clean transportation technologies and vaccine research in 2012.
Canadian support for the Agreement comes in part from the International Science and Technology Partnership Program (ISTPP), which is managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Additional support for this program comes from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Established in 2005, the ISTPP is designed to advance Canadian industrial productivity and competitiveness through the commercialization of technology resulting from market-oriented international research and development (R&D) partnerships with four countries: Brazil, China, India and Israel.
China is one of the world’s fastest growing major economies and is now Canada’s second-largest individual merchandise trading partner. In 2010, two-way merchandise trade between Canada and China amounted to $57.8 billion. Canadian merchandise exports to China more than tripled between 2001 and 2010 and were valued at $13.2 billion in 2010.