The scientific communities of China and the United States plan to enhance communication, openness, trust and practical cooperation to help solve some of the world's most challenging issues, such as tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Administrators of the China Association for Science and Technology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science held a virtual meeting on March 1. The two associations are the largest confederations of scientific and engineering societies in their countries, and established relations in 1978.

Zhang Yuzhuo, vice-president and chief executive secretary of the secretariat of CAST, said the two organizations have been engaged in friendly cooperation for over four decades and have made progress in many scientific fields, including journal publishing, education, policy, and promoting academic exchanges and integrity.

"Cooperation between the Chinese and US scientific communities is crucial for global science and technology development," he said. "I believe this cooperation will keep deepening."

Zhang said CAST will continue to collaborate with scientific communities around the world to promote scientific and technological development, pursue sustainable development and improve people's living standards through science and technology.

"Let the scientific communities' drive for excellence dispel the shadow of COVID-19 that is looming over our world. Let's promote socioeconomic development and use science and technology to light up a bright future for mankind," Zhang said.

Sudip Parikh, chief executive officer of AAAS and executive publisher of the Science family of journals, said scientists from both countries can take advantage of the foundation of collaboration in the past decades to explore the natural world and address major challenges the world faces today.

"If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together. I think we should walk together in this and we can go far," he said.

"We can address some very big challenges and we know that the scientists and engineers of our two countries are doing this already. And we should manifest that as well, as leaders of our two organizations, for the good of our countries and for the good of the world."