At a Peer Review Meeting for Key International Cooperation Projects hosted by Bureau of International Cooperation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on May 7, 2010, Dr. ZHAO Gang, Deputy Director-General of NAOC & Chair of China TMT Board, presented the meeting together with Dr. XUE Suijian, Assistant to Director-General of NAOC & Project Manager of China TMT and made a feasibility report on the project of China’s Participation in the Thirty Meter Telescope to defend this application.

The project application was finally approved and initiated as a seed grant by the Chinese Academy of Sciences after serious discussions and evaluation among experts and administrators with the consensus that: the international cooperation project is of great importance and will help establish a full partnership in the construction and operation of TMT. Then China will be able to build specific instruments as in-kind contributions in order to share TMT observing time, and will have gains in terms of its high-technology development by undertaking some of the core technology constructions of TMT.

The National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with other relevant domestic research institutions in the field, joined the Thirty Meter Telescope Project (TMT) as an Observer in November 2009. TMT is an international partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy. The Observer Status provides a framework for the detailed discussions between the US and Chinese sides, on substantial science and technology issues.