Guo Huadong, director-general of the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences (RADI), and Vladimír Šucha, director-general of the European Commission Joint Research Center (JRC), signed a new cooperation agreement during the 17^th China-EU Summit in Brussels, the EU Council headquarters, on June 29.

The event was witnessed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. 

According to the agreement, the two institutions will address global challenges such as sustainable development, climate action and disaster risk reduction. Cooperation will cover six major fields-- human settlement analysis, digital Earth science, land degradation, air quality, land cover mapping and agricultural monitoring. They will also cooperate in scientific and technological exchanges, joint training programs, and projects and activities of mutual interests.  

The RADI-JRC agreement was listed in the 17^th China-EU Summit Joint Statement as one of the summit’s remarkable outcomes. During the 2nd China-EU Innovation Cooperation Dialogue, Professor Guo delivered a lecture on Earth observation and digital Earth in China and prospects for Sino-EU cooperation in the field.