A Sino-American institute specialized in nanometer-related technology will be set up in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, delegates from both sides announced Monday.

The institute, jointly sponsored by Zhejiang Provincial People's Government, Zhejiang University and the US-based California Nano systems Institute (CNSI), will include eight research centers in the fields of information technology, biomedical and the study at molecule and nanometer scale.

With an investment of 250 million yuan (US$30.1 million), the institute, located in the Zhejiang University, will also incubate and industrialize its research results.

The research base is expected to provide a platform to promote high-tech industrialization and international cooperation, said Mao Linsheng, vice governor of Zhejiang.

Roy Doumani, a CNSI professor, said the cooperation between Chinese and US universities must be innovative partnership that integrates research and education, accelerates applications and fully explores the implications of nano technology.

(Xinhua News Agency June 7, 2005)