On 12 October 2026, the 6^th Biennial Strategic Meeting between the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) was held in Beijing.

Professor Lan Yujie, Vice President of NSFC, and Professor Christopher Smith, International Champion of UKRI, attended the meeting and delivered remarks. Vice President Lan Yujie noted that scientific cooperation constitutes an important component of China-UK bilateral relations. Serving as a mechanism for dialogue on basic science between the two sides, the NSFC-UKRI Biennial Strategic Meeting has effectively opened communication channels in basic research, deepened mutual trust and built consensus, acting as a key platform to continuously improve the quality of China-UK research cooperation. Discussions at this meeting to further identify priority funding themes and areas of collaborative interest are of great value. Christopher Smith stated that international research collaboration is important for tackling global scientific challenges such as climate change, life health, energy and environment. He expressed hope that this strategic meeting will further strengthen bilateral collaboration, focus on priority areas and clarify preferred directions for cooperation, underpinning practical China-UK scientific collaboration going forward.

NSFC and UKRI respectively presented the latest developments and strategic initiatives. In-depth discussions were held on key topics of mutual interest, including climate change, energy and environment, life health, agricultural science and food, divergent projects, and best practices for funding interdisciplinary research.

The NSFC-UKRI Biennial Strategic Meeting is a regular bilateral consultation and decision-making mechanism, hosted alternately in China and the UK every two years. Five sessions have been successfully held since 2014. The meeting aims to review past cooperation, explore science and technology strategic policies and governance issues of shared concern, and plan substantive cooperation for the future.

Fan Yingjie, Director General of Bureau of International Cooperation of NSFC, Li Wencong, Deputy Director General of the Bureau of International Cooperation of NSFC, together with other NSFC participants, and representatives from UKRI’s research councils and China Office attended the meeting.