Cuba and China will inaugurate in February the first biotechnology joint innovative center, whose assembly phase culminated in the province of Hunan, located in the central region of the Asian country, Prensa Latina news agency reported this Thursday.
With equipment and laboratories designed by specialists from the Cuban Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, the new scientific institution is the result of extensive bilateral cooperation and will be dedicated to developing 100% Cuban projects, the island’s embassy in Beijing posted on Twitter.
The First R&D Center #Cuba– #China, which will be inaugurated shortly and will develop 100% Cuban projects and technologies, completed its installation in #Yonzhou, #Hunan province. #VamosPorMas #JuntosPorCuba @BioCubaFarma @CubaMINREX @MINCEX_CUBA pic.twitter.com/vFxeqNOFmf
— EmbaCuba China (@EmbacubaChina) January 1, 2020
The realization of the center is also due to a Chinese government policy that encourages innovation capacities through local administrations, diplomatic sources cited by Prensa Latina explained.
Cuba and China jointly manage the Changchun Heber Biological Technology joint venture, opened in 2003 and dedicated to developing biotechnological products.
Both countries also collaborate with the ChangHeber and Biotech companies, the latter dedicated to the development and marketing of the Cuban-made Nimotuzumab-R3 monoclonal antibody, which is used to treat brain tumors.
Tecnología e infraestructuras centran visita del canciller cubano a China
The island “has bet on Chinese technology as an essential component of development in Cuba,” said Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez during a visit to the Asian country last May.
China is Cuba’s first trading partner in Asia and one of its main political allies in the world.