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Yuanyue Dang

China and the EU have renewed their joint research agreement, according to Chinese state-linked media, signalling a willingness to collaborate on climate and agriculture despite trade tensions.
People’s Financial News, a publication affiliated with Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily, reported on the new two-year agreement on Wednesday.
China’s Ministry of Science and Technology and the European Commission had signed joint research funding agreements to support scientific cooperation through to 2027, the report said.
The cooperation focuses on areas such as food, agriculture and biosolutions, as well as climate change and biodiversity.
The report did not say when the agreement was signed.
China and the European Union have been trying to find common ground despite lingering tensions over trade, Chinese-made electric vehicles flooding the European market and the Russia-Ukraine war.
The 2025-2027 programme was funding universities, research institutions and enterprises in China and the EU to carry out “practical research and development project cooperation to jointly address global challenges such as climate change”, the report said.
China is supporting the mechanism through intergovernmental science and technology cooperation agreements under its National Key Research and Development Programme, while the EU is drawing on Horizon Europe, its flagship research and innovation framework.
The 2026-2027 Horizon Europe programme bans organisations headquartered in China from applying for funding in “critical areas” totalling €93 billion (US$110 billion), with the EU citing concerns over research security and potential military applications.
In effect since January, the ban covers key fields including artificial intelligence, quantum technology, semiconductors and biotechnology.
However, cooperation on climate change, agriculture and biodiversity remains exempt – matching the areas specified in the latest China-EU joint research agreement.
The joint funding mechanism was established in 2015 to mark the 40th anniversary of China-EU diplomatic relations. The previous edition was in effect from 2021 to 2024.
Senior officials from both sides have held a number of meetings in recent days.
Wang Hongzhi, head of China’s National Energy Administration, met the European commissioner for energy and housing, Dan Jorgensen, in Beijing on Tuesday, the administration said on its website.
It said the pair exchanged views on topics including China-EU energy transition policies and planning, electrification and cooperation.
Also on Tuesday, an eight-member delegation from the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee arrived in China for a three-day visit, the committee’s first-ever trip to the country.
Officials from both sides are expected to discuss ways to ease tensions against a backdrop of intensifying trade frictions, geopolitical turmoil and the EU’s expanding import restrictions.
While the EU has long expressed concerns about China’s industrial overcapacity and export controls on critical raw materials including rare earths, Beijing maintains that its restrictions are non-discriminatory and fully comply with international rules.
The two sides also remain sharply divided over the war in Ukraine. Brussels accuses Beijing of offering indirect support to Moscow – most recently alleging Chinese involvement in training Russian troops – a charge denied by Beijing.


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Joint 2025-2027 research agreement covers climate and agriculture, state media says, signalling will to collaborate in spite of differences


Joint 2025-2027 research agreement covers climate and agriculture, state media says, signalling will to collaborate in spite of differences.


China, EU pushing ahead on joint research despite trade tensions

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Joint 2025-2027 research agreement covers climate and agriculture, state media says, signalling will to collaborate in spite of differences

Joint 2025-2027 research agreement covers climate and agriculture, state media says, signalling will to collaborate in spite of differences