HONG KONG - The first batch of funding, totalling 22 million Chinese yuan (about $3.51 million), from China's central government to support research institutions in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is already in place, an official from the Liaison Office of the Central Government of China in the HKSAR said here Tuesday.

Tan Tieniu, Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the central government in the HKSAR, said at the Forum on Mainland-Hong Kong Cooperation in Innovation and Technology that Hong Kong has set up a total of 16 Partner State Key Laboratories and six Hong Kong Branches of Chinese National Engineering Research Centers.

These institutions have received a total of 22 million yuan of science and technology funding from the Central Government, Tan said.

The forum, held by the HKSAR government, discussed new opportunities brought about by opening up of the funding for application by higher education institutions and research institutions in Hong Kong. This new regulation was announced by the central government on Monday.

Huang Wei, Vice Minister of Science and Technology, said that to support the development of Hong Kong as an international innovation and technology hub, the Ministry of Science and Technology will press ahead with the cooperation between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong in the area of scientific research, and further improvement of the system for Hong Kong scientists to participate in national science and technology projects.

HKSAR Chief Executive Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said as local research will be funded by the science and technology funding from the central government, this will foster technological co-operation between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.

The forum was attended by more than 100 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), and representatives of the HKSAR government and the technology sector.