Chinese President Hu Jintao and Canadian Premier Matin witnessed the signature ceremony about the science and technology cooperation between the Chinese Academy of Sciences and University of Ottawa (CAS-UO) in the Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings at Sep. 9. 2005. Vice-secretary-general of CAS Guo Huadong and University of Ottawa president Gilles Patry signed agreement written in Chinese, English and French respectively. Thus the collaborative agreement formally went into effect. The agreement pointed out both research institutions looked forward to collaboration at common interesting research field including exchange of scientists and researchers and both sides academic conference, then work up to substantial international cooperation. And the whole cooperation project will be initiated at the reproductive health research that organized by Institutive of Zoology (IOZ) and the Ottawa Health Research Institute.

Professor Duan Enkui, deputy director of IOZ and director of State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Biology, invited by Guo Huadong and accompanied him to present the signature ceremony.

Chinese government still faces the austerity mission of population control, while Canada side is confronted with the population decline that has menaced Canadian productivity maintenance. In order to resolve the two completeness contrary problems, it is necessary to understanddeeply scientific basic on the human reproductive health.

Base on the same interesting, the primary conceive of establishing Sino-Canada bilateral reproductive health research was put forward by the Ottawa Health Research Institute, University of Ottawa and State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Biology in May 2004. Then in Sep. 2004, Vice President of CAS Guo Chuanjie leaded the Delegation from Chinese Academy of Sciences  to visit Canada. During the course, he farther discussed the cooperation project with Gilles Patry and Professor Benjamin K. Tsang. In order to search the cooperative cut-in point and establish the substantial cooperation of the both government foundation organization and CAS-UO, the First Sino-Canada bilateral workshop on reproductive health is going to be held in Beijing at Nov.15-18. 2005, and the Second session will be in Canada in May 2007.

The signing took place during a state visit to Canada by President Hu Jintao, which is one of the seven series agreements both governments signed. This reflected that both governments recognized the importance of reproductive health research. With the agreement putting into effect, it will conduce to stimulate the desired expansion of bilateral research partnerships, to the greatest potential for mutually benefice collaboration, and to a joint “complementary study” that may be a factor in innovation, development and establishment of the reproductive health research group.

The seven agreements designed to enhance cooperation are including the areas of transportation, food safety and nuclear energy and the science and technology.