UK / China GM Mapping Project

With growing concerns over global food security there is an increasing need and opportunity to invest in science, research and development, and to engage in international collaboration to identify solutions to meet the world’s food needs.  At the same time China has emerged as a key research player in agriculture and more recently on GM technologies.

Completed in March 2009, this mapping project was designed to identify capabilities in the UK and China in:
• GM crop research
• GM biofuel research
• GM risk and regulation in the UK and China.

The mapping exercise identified three key areas for mutually beneficial co-operation for research or technical collaboration.

Collaboration based on drivers:
• Technological needs with clear benefits to consumers and/or industry
• overcoming hostile climate conditions,
• responding to major pest and disease,
• improving consumer awareness of the risks and benefits of GM,
• ensuring affective assessment of bio-safety.

Collaboration based on technical aspects:
The focus should be on the essential research components needed to allow technological development and exploitation of BM food crops and biofuels. Examples include identifying targets for modification and understanding the mechanisms by which key traits and functionality are derived and developing the enabling science in relation to the genetic control of the traits.

Collaboration based on application:
There are some key products in China where there is clear overlap with research groups in the UK:
• biofuels, particularly second generation biofuels and the long term effects,
• crops such as cereals, soybean, rapeseed, tomato and papaya.

For copies of the full report please contact Laurence Jia at laurence.jia@fco.gov.uk