On Oct. 21st to 22nd, 2009, the bilateral meeting of the first five-year collaboration of China-Japan Joint Laboratories was held at IBP in Beijing. Under the driving force of the Chinese and Japanese governments, CAS and the University of Tokyo established the “Joint Laboratory of Structural Virology and Immunology” and the “Joint Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and Molecular Microbiology” in 2005. During the past five years, as a result of the tremendous efforts of scientists from the two joint laboratories, remarkable progress has been achieved.

The vice-president of CAS, Jiayang Li, and the deputy-director of the Beijing Institutes of Life Sciences, CAS, Fu Gao, attended the meeting and interacted deeply with the Japanese delegates. Over the past five years the China-Japan Joint Laboratories have developed into a research and innovation platform for both Chinese and Japanese scientists in the field of virus infection and immunology. Acknowledging this good beginning, Jiayang Li expressed his hope for continued fruitful collaboration through the China-Japan Joint Laboratories and that their research progress would have a profound impact onthe battle against infectious diseases. Jiayang Li said that, in line with the policies of Chinese government, CAS wishes to enhance its support of Chinese-Japanese collaboration. On behalf of the Beijing Institutes of Life Sciences of CAS, Fu Gao spoke of the attention he has paid to both the past and future research achievements of the China-Japan Joint Laboratories. Japanese delegates were actively involved in the meeting. Aikichi Iwamoto, Director of the Research hospital of the Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Tokyo, and Yoshiyuki Nagai, director of the RIKEN center research network for infectious diseases, both mentioned that reformation of the Japanese political system would create great opportunities for international collaborations and both showed their confidence in the future of China-Japan collaborations. Yoshiyuki Nagai introduced a new program proposed by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) for founding research centers on emerging and reemerging infectious diseases, and emphasized that the China-Japan Joint Laboratories are one of the most important centers in this program. Weiping Chen, manager of the Asian and African Affairs Division of the Bureau of International Cooperation, CAS, also attended this meeting.

Scientists from both sides later gave excellent presentations on their research achievements and cutting-edge developments in the field of virus infection. Animated discussion of presentations further increased the degree of communication between Chinese and Japanese scientists. Around 80 people, including 22 Japanese delegates, participated in the meeting.