According to an agreement reached by the two parties, the CAS-BP China Center will work together in clean energy research over the next decade.

　　The British company agreed to contribute 10 million U.S. dollars to the center, which is the fifth BP research center worldwide.

　　Yang Boling, vice president of the CAS, said that the two parties would concentrate on research areas of common interest. Inaddition, they would jointly own any relevant achievement and intellectual property rights.

　　Gary Dirks, BP's vice president, said that his company hopes for further substantial cooperation with the CAS.

　　The center's headquarters is to be set up at the CAS Institute of Chemical Physics in Dalian, Liaoning Province. Researchers fromother CAS institutes as well as from Qinghua University and the Chinese University of Science and Technology will also take part in the research program.

　　In recent years, the CAS signed 66 agreements with many countries in the world. The academy has launched joint programs with other international giants such as Bayer, Daimler-Chrysler and Panasonic.