The Ministry of Education announced the International Cooperation Joint Laboratory Programme recently. According to the programme, a group of international cooperation joint laboratories will be integrated, upgraded and accredited in institutions of higher education. Programme objectives are, taking into account the frontiers of international scientific research and major national requirements, a group of merit-based international cooperation joint laboratories of a certain scales that represent the scientific research level and strength of China will be integrated, upgraded and accredited by 2020 from among major disciplines and fields of institutions of higher education based on state-level or equivalent platforms of scientific and technological innovation. These joint laboratories are expected to become academic centres for international scientific and technological cooperation and exchanges, as well as important platforms that gather leading scholars and cultivate talents. They will also represent international innovation bases with important influence.