Chinese scientific projects are to be opened to international cooperation and professional exchanges, says a government official.

The government would increase competitiveness by attracting more innovative talent and tapping advanced technologies, said Shang Yong, Vice Minister of Science and Technology.

"Some big projects are too costly and time-consuming for one country alone," said Chen Hesheng, director of the High Energy Physics Institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

He mentioned the Beijing electron positron collider, which is being upgraded at a cost of 640-million-yuan (US$82 million). The job is expected to be done by the end of 2007.

A group of Chinese and US scientists discovered a new particle last year using the collider, causing a stir in the international physics world said Chen.

Since 2005, China has joined a number of major international research and development projects, including the 3.5-billion-euro Galileo system, a network of 30 global positioning satellites intended for civilian use.

The government's 11th five-year plan (2006-2010) for international cooperation in science and technology has identified energy, biology and space technology as major areas for such cooperation.

(Xinhua News Agency December 7, 2006)