FILE PHOTO: Chinese and U.S. flags are set up for a meeting during a visit by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao at China's Ministry of Transport in Beijing, China, April 27, 2018. (Xinhua/REUTERS)

NEW YORK, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Cooperation between U.S. and Chinese scientists, although currently strong, could benefit from more exchanges, environmental experts said at a recent meeting held here.

"There has always been good cooperation in sciences between researchers in the United States and researchers at Chinese universities, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other science administrations," said Arthur Lerner-Lam, academic director of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

"This has become more frequent, and more comprehensive in addition to teaching visits. It's a very healthy exchange of ideas, and exchange of students and professors," he said at the meeting discussing how to better protect the environment.

Lerner-Lam said scientists should meet more often to discuss things such as the sustainability of the earth.

The ability of people around the globe to negotiate a sustainable future really depends on how the United States and China think about sustainability, he said.

Scientists from both countries should exchange more knowledge on pollution control in their countries and together work to monitor the pollution of the atmosphere, the oceans and the land, Lerner-Lam said. Bringing the countries closer together would help improve the prediction of extreme weather phenomena, such as storms, droughts and floods.

Yan Weimin, President of the Greater New York chapter with Chinese Association for Science and Technology, said an increasing number of Chinese and U.S. scientists are seeking more opportunities to meet and exchange views and ideas in different fields in a bid to advance their research.

Yan said he is confident that bilateral exchanges in the sciences will continue and move at a faster pace. "The world will definitely become much better if scientists of the two biggest economies are working more closely," he said.