China, U.S. extend science cooperation agreement for 5 years

China and the United States officially renewed a decades-old science and technology cooperation agreement in Beijing on Friday.

Officials from the two governments signed a protocol to amend and extend the Agreement Between the United States and China on Cooperation in Science and Technology.

They agreed to extend the agreement for an additional five years, effective from August 27, 2024, the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology said in a statement.

On January 31, 1979, then Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and the 39th U.S. President Jimmy Carter signed the agreement during Deng's visit to the United States. It was one of the first intergovernmental agreements signed between the two countries following their establishment of diplomatic relations.

Since then, it has been renewed approximately every five years, paving the way for sci-tech exchanges between the two countries. The agreement was extended for six months in August last year, and again in February this year.

(With input from Xinhua)