China and the European Union have a rich history of working together to advance their knowledge and application of science, technology and innovation.

On Thursday, cooperation between the two powers continued as experts gathered for a roundtable discussion organised by Casa Asia and the Confucius Institute in Barcelona to mark 50 years of China-Spain diplomatic relations.

The aim of the meeting was to discuss how China, Spain and the EU as a whole can improve their cooperation across a host of areas including health, energy, mobility and nuclear fusion.

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Among the attendees was Alexis Roig, Barcelona's Chief Science and Tech Envoy and CEO of SciTech DiploHub. He said that China's enormous scientific development in recent years makes it a "perfect partner" for scientific and technological cooperation with Europe - and Spain in particular.

Roig also highlighted how China and the EU are already cooperating across three key areas. "The green transition is one of the priorities for both regions," he said to CGTN. "We are seeing more and more cooperation through nuclear fusion, solar panels and other related technologies."

He added: "We're also seeing how cities are cooperating through smart cities technologies and how this helps mobility and other technologies that are helping citizens. 

"And then we also see how the startup ecosystem, particularly in the digital world, they're cooperating and we are seeing more exchanges between startups in both countries."

The experts in attendance in Barcelona also discussed how China and the EU could further their cooperation by developing joint projects within the framework of Horizon Europe, the EU's leading funding programme for scientific research and innovation.

As the event drew to a close, experts from both China and the EU agreed that collaboration between researchers from both countries would help to build new diplomatic bridges and advance scientific and technological progress. 

Interview by Ken Browne.

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