On 12 April, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and BHP-Billiton, a Melbourne-based company of diversifed resources, held a special workshop on cooperation in Beijing. CAS Vice President Li Jinghai and BHP-Billiton Technology Vice President Megan Clark were present at the meeting.

Li briefed the participants on CAS priority areas in energy resources, its role in meeting the strategic needs of the nation, and development of CAS innovation clusters in the field. Presentations were made by officials and experts from CAS headquarters and institutes, including Bureau of High-tech Research and Development, Bureau of International Cooperation, Institute of Process Engineering, Institute of Microbiology and Shanxi Institute of Coal Chemistry.

After the one-day meeting, the two sides reached the consensus to collaborate in the fields of clean coal, process simulation and automation, new metallurgy and biotechnology. They also agreed to set up a long-term partnership for comprehensive cooperation.