Germany and the China share a strong tradition of science cooperation. Science and research institutions of both countries have long-standing collaborations with one another, Chinese research groups are users at many German facilities, and there are numerous projects across various disciplines where the bilateral relationship is important. Growing geopolitical tensions yet call for a reassessment of the opportunities and risks of international research cooperation, including the cooperation with China. How to increase the competence of researchers and science organisations to make informed and responsible cooperation decisions was the overarching theme of a conference held in Berlin in late May. The conference convened an unprecedented number of relevant experts from member institutions of the Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany, funding organisations, federal ministries as well as renowned China specialists from universities and think tanks. More than ninety experts discussed strategic aims and measures relating to the repositioning of foreign science policy, the treatment of dual use issues, the approach towards technology sovereignty, and the organisation of China competencies in the sciences.

The conference took place within WIKOOP-INFRA, a project at DESY on research cooperation with China jointly launched in September 2021 with the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). “We observe that a lot of complementary work is currently undertaken, and we wanted to bring the diverse knowledge bases, experiences, and perspectives together”, says DESY’s Marcus Conlé, who coordinates WIKOOP-INFRA. The project’s ultimate goal is to develop recommendations for confident and informed decisions and secure action in research cooperation – a concept that the Helmholtz Association, of which DESY is a part, has been driving forward in recent years. At DESY, yet another project RESIDE has recently started with a focus on introducing structural and procedural responses to the new conditions for international cooperation at the level of the research centres – complementing WIKOOP-INFRA and profiting from its input.

Only a few days later, in early June 2023, the discussions from the Berlin conference were taken up at a workshop with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing. Likewise organised by the WIKOOP-INFRA project, the workshop featured hybrid sessions with presentations by representatives from the Helmholtz Association and the CAS on science policy advice, interdisciplinary research, scientific data management, and the research ethics of artificial intelligence, as well as a high-level in-person discussion between DESY/WIKOOP-INFRA and CAS representatives on the challenges of bilateral research cooperation. As a result of the workshop, Helmut Dosch, Chairman of the DESY Board of Directors and Vice President of the Helmholtz Association, and Yaping Zhang, Vice President of CAS, agreed on setting up joint working groups to address the cooperation challenges in the near future.

After the workshop, the DESY delegation seized the opportunity to get a detailed picture of recent developments of China’s photon science landscape by visiting research facilities and projects in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.

The conference took place within WIKOOP-INFRA, a project at DESY on research cooperation with China jointly launched in September 2021 with the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). “We observe that a lot of complementary work is currently undertaken, and we wanted to bring the diverse knowledge bases, experiences, and perspectives together”, says DESY’s Marcus Conlé, who coordinates WIKOOP-INFRA. The project’s ultimate goal is to develop recommendations for confident and informed decisions and secure action in research cooperation – a concept that the Helmholtz Association, of which DESY is a part, has been driving forward in recent years. At DESY, yet another project RESIDE has recently started with a focus on introducing structural and procedural responses to the new conditions for international cooperation at the level of the research centres – complementing WIKOOP-INFRA and profiting from its input.

Only a few days later, in early June 2023, the discussions from the Berlin conference were taken up at a workshop with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing. Likewise organised by the WIKOOP-INFRA project, the workshop featured hybrid sessions with presentations by representatives from the Helmholtz Association and the CAS on science policy advice, interdisciplinary research, scientific data management, and the research ethics of artificial intelligence, as well as a high-level in-person discussion between DESY/WIKOOP-INFRA and CAS representatives on the challenges of bilateral research cooperation. As a result of the workshop, Helmut Dosch, Chairman of the DESY Board of Directors and Vice President of the Helmholtz Association, and Yaping Zhang, Vice President of CAS, agreed on setting up joint working groups to address the cooperation challenges in the near future. After the workshop, the DESY delegation seized the opportunity to get a detailed picture of recent developments of China’s photon science landscape by visiting research facilities and projects in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.