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The SÃO PAULO RESEARCH FOUNDATION, hereinafter referred to as FAPESP, established by the Law nº 5.918, of October 18th, 1960, with headquarters at Rua Pio XI, 1500, Alto da Lapa, São Paulo, SP, Brazil, enrolled in CNPJ/MF under nº 43.828.151/0001-45, herein represented, according to Article 11, “a” of Law nº 5.918, combined with its General Rule approved by Decree n° 40.132, of May 23, 1962, by its President, Professor Marco Antonio Zago; and the NATIONAL NATURAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION OF CHINA, established under the State Council of the People’s Republic of China on February 14, 1986, with its headquarters in Beijing, at 83 Shuangqing Road, Haidian District, Postal Code 100085, represented by its President, Dr. DOU Xiankang, hereinafter referred to as NSFC,

CONSIDERING FAPESP and NSFC both hereinafter referred to as “Parties”.

CONSIDERING the importance of promoting cooperation in scientific and technological research between China, and the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, wishing to strengthen this cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual benefit;

CONSIDERING the need to strengthen the links between the scientific and innovation communities of both countries and also to encourage new forms of collaboration between their universities and research institutions;

WISHING to promote collaboration initiatives in scientific research and technological development in priority areas of interest to both parties, fostering bilateral cooperation;

Agree as follows:

Clause One - Purpose

Through this Cooperation Agreement, the Parties will implement scientific and technological cooperation between researchers from China, and from the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, through the joint funding of research projects.

Clause Two - Methods of Collaboration

The Parties will promote said collaboration, observing their international obligations and domestic laws and other existing regulations, through mechanisms such as:

a) Implementation of joint research projects on issues of common concern, exchanging knowledge and results;

b) Organization of scientific and technological seminars, specialized workshops, symposia and other scientific meetings of mutual interest, to promote interactions between institutions and research groups relevant to both Parties, with the goal of identifying future areas for cooperation;

c) Activities of scientific exchange that help prepare the ground for the development of cooperative research projects between teams from the state of São Paulo and from China, including, but not limited to, scientific exchange visits, workshops and bilateral scientific seminars.

Clause Three - Scientific and Technological Areas

a) The activities mentioned in the second clause could be developed, in principle, in all areas of knowledge.

b) Areas of interest can be specified jointly by the appointed Steering Committee, in the calls for research proposals.

Clause Four - Implementation

a) The Parties will establish one or more actions according to Clause Two and in accordance with the scientific relevance and the national legislation in each country of the Parties and their own budget availability.

b) The Parties will appoint two representatives, one from each Institution, who will form a Joint Steering Committee responsible for the continuation of this Agreement and for drafting the call for joint proposals.

c) The Parties may define together, the most appropriate procedures to discuss the implementation of specific actions, including technical visits, workshops, evaluation procedures and others that they deem necessary.

d) Each Party will receive and review the proposals according to its own criteria and rules. After the revision of the proposals, the Parties will decide together meeting which proposals will be supported.

e) The Parties may establish joint procedures for the submission and review of the proposals in case of mutual interest, through a decision by the Joint Steering Committee.

Clause Five - Funding

a) For each of the research projects that are approved, NSFC will assume the funding of research teams from China, and FAPESP of the research teams from the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, in all cases according to their national rules and regulations and budget availability.

b) The amount for funding necessary to support the actions established in each Call for Proposals will be defined by the Joint Steering Committee, subject to the approval of each Party.

Clause Six - Intellectual Property

a) The Parties agree that when the actions taken by virtue of this Agreement result in products of commercial value and intellectual property rights, they will be regulated by national legislation and international conventions in force. Participants should also observe the Intellectual Property Policy of the Party responsible for the funding of their team.

b) In the case of joint ownership of Intellectual Property, the relevant parties will in good faith endeavor to establish a joint ownership agreement regarding the allocation and terms of exercising that joint ownership, taking into account the relevant contributions of the Parties.

Clause Seven - Data Management, Confidentiality, and Secrecy

a) The Parties undertake to act in accordance with their respective national legislation on Personal Data Protection and the determinations of the regulatory/supervisory bodies in this regard;

b) The processing of personal data by the Parties to this Agreement shall be carried out exclusively to achieve the institutional purposes set forth in their respective constitutive acts and in accordance with the legal competencies of each;

c) The Parties mutually ensure that data, originating from the activities under this agreement and related to program review, shall not be disclosed to third parties in any way, in whole or in part, without the specific approval of the other Party;

d) The Parties undertake to use appropriate and sufficient administrative, technical, and physical security measures to protect the confidentiality and integrity of all personal data maintained or electronically accessed/transmitted, to ensure the protection of such data against unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, disclosure, or accidental or improper loss;

e) The Parties shall not disclose to third parties any confidential information of the other Party, to which they have had access by virtue of this Agreement.

f) Neither of the Parties shall use the confidential information of the other Party for any purpose other than that provided for in this Agreement.

g) If one of the Parties is required, by legal or judicial determination, to provide personal or confidential data to a public authority, it shall immediately inform the other Party so that it may take appropriate measures.

Clause Eight - Term

a) This Agreement shall be valid for a period of 5 (five) years from the date of its signing and may be extended by mutual agreement between the Parties in a written amendment to this Agreement.

b) Either Party may terminate this Agreement by a six months’ advance written notice.

c) The termination or expiration of this Agreement shall not prevent the execution of the projects and programs that have been approved or the completion of the projects and programs that have already started. In such cases, the Parties shall preserve the budgets of the projects and programs throughout their duration.

Clause Nine - Communications

Any notice to be served to either of the Parties by the other shall be made in writing and shall be sent to the following addresses:

(a) FAPESP:
Rua Pio XI, 1500 – Alto da Lapa
CEP 05468-901 – São Paulo / SP – Brasil
e-mail: dc@fapesp.br
Att.: Scientific Director

(b) NSFC:
83 Shuangqing Road, Haidian District,
Beijing 100085, China
Email: chenjing@nsfc.gov.cn
Att.: Jing Chen
Deputy Director
Division of American and Australasian Affairs,
Bureau of International Cooperation

Clause Ten - Modifications

This Agreement may be amended by mutual consent of the Parties and made official by Addenda.

Clause Eleven - Miscellaneous

a) Each Party covers its own administration costs regarding its contribution to the Call for Proposals, unless otherwise jointly decided.

b) Actions arising from this Agreement shall be subject to the availability of funds in the budget of the Parties, as well as to the applicable laws and regulations of their respective countries.

c) The Parties shall maintain the highest ethical and legal standards in funding research under this Agreement.

d) Neither party may use any identifying marks of the other without the express written permission of the other party.

Clause Twelve - Dispute Resolution

a) The Parties agree that this Agreement is produced in good faith, so that any dispute or divergent interpretation in relation to its implementation, execution and compliance will be resolved jointly by them and shall be in writing.

b) The termination of this Agreement will result in full termination of all obligations, with no liabilities, of both parties, who nonetheless agree to continue all ongoing actions until notified by the other party of the intention to terminate the agreement.

Once this instrument has been signed the Parties shall conclude the agreement with the effective date indicated herein in two original copies, in English-Portuguese version and in English-Chinese version, both texts having the same effect, in accordance with their respective national legislation. In case of divergence in interpretation, the English text will prevail.

Agreement signed on June 21, 2024 and valid until June 20, 2029.

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