{"id":11762,"date":"2023-02-17T07:30:16","date_gmt":"2023-02-17T07:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/?p=11762"},"modified":"2025-04-23T09:33:27","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T09:33:27","slug":"why-uk-china-scientific-collaborations-remain-crucial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/why-uk-china-scientific-collaborations-remain-crucial\/","title":{"rendered":"How UK-China scientific collaborations are benefitting the world"},"content":{"rendered":"

Without crossover between China and the UK in everything from education to manufacturing, the medical technology pioneered by Beijing X-Magtech Technologies might never have existed. Sarah Keenlyside<\/strong> spoke to co-founder Bin Cai to find out more<\/h2>\n

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You don\u2019t need a science degree to understand the life-saving benefits of Beijing X-Magtech Technologies\u2019 commercial-grade atomic magnetometer.<\/p>\n

Possessing sensitivity about a billionth of earth\u2019s magnetic field, it acts like a tiny microscope with the ability to detect extremely weak magnetic fields. The outcome for doctors around the world? The chance to detect cardiovascular and brain diseases such as Alzheimer\u2019s with more precision, more quickly and in the most non-invasive way possible.<\/p>\n

However, what\u2019s perhaps most impressive about this groundbreakingly affordable magnetic sensor is that it\u2019s been developed by a small, Beijing-based company that only started in 2020, has raised capital from high-profile investors such as IDG and has already won a British Business Award. The device is now being used by hundreds of patients a day in some of China\u2019s key hospitals, with patents pending in Europe and the US.<\/p>\n

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Beijing X-Magtech Technologies\u2019 commercial-grade atomic magnetometer<\/p><\/div>\n

Providing scientists and engineers with a powerful tool to investigate new physics and engineering applications, it\u2019s not just the medical field<\/a> that the technology will impact either: everything from geophysics and materials testing to the defence industry are potential beneficiaries going forward.<\/p>\n

The company was co-founded by Bin Cai, <\/strong>a Xi\u2019an-born entrepreneur who studied Aerospace Engineering at the University of Bath before working at Rolls Royce and Jaguar Land Rover in the UK for over 12 years. Bin is clear about the influence his UK education<\/a> and work experience had on X-Magtech\u2019s creation: \u201cMy experience helped me gain an international perspective and an open mind in terms of what was possible, which was crucial for creating something so innovative and disruptive,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Bin says collaborations in scientific research and education between the UK and China have also played a key role in his company\u2019s origin story.<\/p>\n