China has launched a new program to support projects that promote nongovernmental international collaborations in science and technology, with a focus on the Belt and Road Initiative, officials said on Thursday.

The Strategic International Science and Technology Innovation Collaboration Program was launched on Dec 30, with specific project proposals to be submitted before mid-February. Detailed official guidance on project selection criteria was published on the Ministry of Science and Technology’s website.

"Three categories of projects will be featured – projects on the adaptation of high technology in Belt and Road Initiative countries, projects building high-end platforms for international-collaborated research and projects that focus on multinational science problems," said Wang Yan, deputy director of the China Science and Technology Exchange Center, the institute in charge of selecting the projects.

Projects related to clean energy, agriculture and high-speed trains are particularly welcome, Wang said.

According to the guidance, qualified projects should include collaborating institutes from both in the Chinese mainland and elsewhere. The program specifically requests that participating institutes in China provide research positions for foreign experts, in the hope of expanding person-to-person exchanges as well as scientific collaboration.

"Cutting-edge science, like DNA sequencing a decade ago, or brain science at present, needs multinational talent," said Ye Dongbai, head of the international collaboration division at the Ministry of Science and Technology.

"But for scientists to get to know and trust each other, that's also of great importance."