The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) renewed their agreement on Joint Fund of Research Utilizing Large-scale Scientific Facilities on July 12, 2011.

The second stage of the fund will last from 2012 to 2014. Each organization will allocate 30 million RMB (Approx. $4.6 million) every year to support scientific research in such fields as material science, information science, life science, environmental and resource science, according to the renewed agreement.

Steady High Magnetic Field Facility based in Hefei, Anhui province is newly included in stage II fund, along with Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPC), Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou Cooler Storage Ring (HIRFL-CSR), Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) and Hefei Synchrotron Radiation Facility enlisted in stage I.

The fund will help universities and science institutes use CAS’ large-scale scientific facilities for their research.

"Openness and sharing is one important feature of our large-scale scientific facilities, whose construction and sound operation represents national S&T capacity as well as the core competitiveness of national science and technology”, said LIU Minghua, director of the Bureau of Basic Sciences, CAS.

The first stage NSFC-CAS Joint Fund was initiated in February, 2009 and concluded in 2011. With a total fund of 120 million RMB (Approx.$18 million), the Joint Fund had granted 116 general projects and 15 key projects.

The fund is designed to bring Large-scale Scientific Facilities into full play by encouraging scientists nationwide to conduct their research employing these facilities. It will in one way enhance scientists’ research and innovation capacities and in another complete and empower the experimental capabilities of these facilities.