The recently launched Horizon 2020 project SENET aims to create a sustainable health networking and knowledge hub between Europe and China. Cooperation efforts focused on common health challenges will facilitate favorable conditions for a continuous and sustainable dialogue between China and the EU. 

The well-established EU-China Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement forms the foundation for research cooperation between China and the EU. It was reaffirmed during the last EU-China summit held in July 2018 in Beijing, as the EU and China reassured each other to further develop strategic partnerships. International cooperation between these two countries thus continue to play an important role in jointly addressing global challenges. Therefore both countries aim to improve framework conditions for cooperation on innovation and promote more mutually beneficial, open and equal science.

Health research is an area where the EU and China have a lot to gain from such closer cooperation, as global health challenges are difficult to be tackled on one front. Aligning research efforts can contribute to more efficient research, which can substantially reduce redundancy on a global level. It is therefore necessary to maintain and promote a continuous and sustainable dialogue and exchange between China and the EU on health-related research in order to highlight and exploit current opportunities and outcomes for cooperation.

This is where SENET will provide its support: On the basis of a collaboration scheme strongly involving experts from both the EU and China, the project will promote EU-China health cooperation through different collaborative events and activities like roadshows or specific workshops. In this context, important initiatives and actors within innovative health research will also be identified. These efforts are aimed at improving the research framework conditions and removing barriers to cooperation between China and the EU.

First project results will be published in May 2019.

To join our community and find out more about SENET visit www.senet-hub.eu and follow us on Twitter (@HubSENET)!

Inquiries should be addressed to: Steinbeis 2i GmbH | schmidt@steinbeis-europa.de

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 825904.

Note to editors:
The Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), in Barcelona, is partner to this project.
The website of the project will come soon, by the end of April.