The Chinese Academy of Sciences-John Innes Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science, which brought three world-leading laboratories from the UK and China together, was officially inaugurated on Saturday in Shanghai.

The transnational research team will focus on the improvement of food crops and the production of high-value, beneficial products from plants and microbes, which will aim to tackle the global challenges of food security and sustainable healthcare.

The center is a collaboration of the John Innes Centre and two institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences – the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology and the Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences and the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council funded the joint venture.

"It [the center] will bring together the brightest minds from the UK and China to improve crop production for the world's growing populations and decrease the risks of pesticides in food production," Jo Johnson, UK Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, said during the inauguration ceremony.