European Union, China agree to collaborate on ?Galileo?

European Union, China agree to collaborate on ôGalileoö    The European Union and China have reached an accord on ways to collaborate on Galileo, the European global system of satellite navigation.
   Galileo is a radio navigation program that will bring “a technological revolution similar to the one sparked off by mobile phones” within the grasp of commercial companies, the EU said in a statement.
   “To date, this technology, which promises to be highly profitable, is only mastered by the GPS system in the U.S. and by the GLONASS system in Russia, both of which are financed and controlled by military authorities,” the EU explained.
   In contrast, the Galileo program will be administered by civilians as a “major world infrastructure for the growing market for location services,” said Loyola de Palacio, vice president of the European Commission.
   “China plans to participate actively in Galileo’s construction and application for mutual benefits,” said Xu Guanhua, China’s minister for science and technology.