On Dec. 21, 2020, a delegation headed by Prof. Academician WANG Chi, Director General of the National Space Science Center (NSSC), visit the headquarters of the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO) in Fengtai District, Beijing. The newly appointed Secretary General of APSCO, Ms. YU Qi, and XU Yansong, the Director of the Department of Program Operation, and representatives of member countries met with the NSSC delegation. Prof. XU Jiyao, Prof. LI Hui and Prof. ZHU Yajun from the State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, as well as REN Liwen, Director of International Meridian Circle Program (IMCP) Office and YANG Fang Supervisor from IMCP Office participated in this visit.

 

The Director of the Department of External Relations of APSCO introduced the APSCO history, its main partners and cooperation achievements, which was followed by Prof. LI Hui's introduction of NSSC, Prof. XU Jiyao's presentation on the Meridian Project, and Dr. REN Liwen's talk on the IMCP. The two sides have in-depth discussion on the topics of data sharing, education and training, talent exchanges, and cooperation in IMCP. Both sides reached consensus to finalize the scope and field of the following up cooperation and make necessary preparation for the official signing of Intent of Cooperation, so as to lay the foundation for the subsequent cooperation between the two sides.

 

Secretary General YU Qi fully acknowledged the outstanding contributions made by NSCC in the space field, and expressed the hope to strengthen the cooperation with NSSC, especially by taking advantage of APSCO as an international multilateral cooperation platform to facilitate the promotion and implementation of IMCP and space science at large. Prof WANG Chi extended his welcome for APSCO's participation in the IMCP and stressed that IMCP can serve as a base for international collaborations. He also welcomed researchers from all member countries to visit NSSC for academic exchanges.

Fig. 1 meeting discussions