CHINA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
NEWSLETTER
The Ministry of Science and Technology
People's Republic of China
 
N0.272 September 30,2001
　
IN THIS ISSUE
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S and T Incubators Construction Strengthened
China's Steaming Urban Information Process
China Allows Foreign Equity Control and Purchase of Small and Medium Businesses as a Whole
First Chopper Internal Feed Governing Technique
Clinic Testing of Heavy Ion Cancer Treatment
Steady Growth of High Tech Import and Export
New Development on Beijing Positron-Electron Collider
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SPECIAL ISSUES

S and T Incubators Construction Strengthened

It is reported that the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology has decided to make the relentless promotion of incubator construction part of its 10th Five-Year Plan(2001-2005), so as to strengthen the guidance and support for such activities and explore new organizational and service forms. A guiding fund and cooperation foundation will be created to provide an annual fund support of RMB 50 million for incubator construction with priorities on the construction of national high tech pioneering service center, national campus SandT parks, national pioneering parks for returned Chinese graduates and software park under National Torch Program, etc.
As required by the Outlines for the Development of China's S and T Industrial Incubators for the 10th Five-Yea Plan period published recently by the Ministry of Science and Technology, each large or medium city of certain S and T strength shall create at least one integrated incubator represented by high tech pioneering service center within a period of five years. In the meanwhile, the construction of incubators shall target on dedicated technical fields and eventually make the number of incubators in different forms reach 500 in the country with the total area of 5 million m2 or more, gradually to satisfy the social needs for incubator network system.
In addition, the Ministry of Science and Technology will further enhance its support for the construction of public service infrastructures for different incubators while continuing to strengthen its macro guidance for incubator construction, so as to encourage resources sharing and reciprocal supplement of each other's advantages and realize continuous innovations on management and operation mechanism.

China's Steaming Urban Information Process

In the next 5 years, China will accelerate the construction of its urban information process and realize the inter connection of construction information network with the national public information platform, so as to greatly improve office automation and scientific process of decision making and management modernization.
In the next 5 years, China's urban information process will find its expression in three priority projects, namely digitalization project for urban planning, construction, management and service ( the so-called urban digitalization project)，China engineering and building construction information network and China  residential housing and real estate information network. Detailed targets will be: organize the construction of e-administration system for the government at different levels; realize online information exchange, distribution and service among governmental agencies at different levels; establish sectional data integration and processing center and information briefing center for building construction sector and realize online full process monitoring and management for engineering construction; establish public computer based management information network system sponsored by the government, covering the nation wide real estate administrative management, development and operation management and residential construction industrialization promotion, so as to provide timely and accurate information service for macro decision making process of government and activities of enterprises, institutions and the public, and promote the healthy and orderly development of China's real estate market.

China Allows Foreign Equity Control and Purchase of Small and Medium Businesses as a Whole

Xu Ming, Deputy Director, Dept, of Foreign Economy, Chinese State Economic and Trade Commission disclosed at China-EU Workshop on Small and Medium Businesses Investment Cooperation that China's competent authorities are working on the regulations allowing foreign investors to take dominant equity shares of the Chinese state enterprises and purchase the Chinese small or medium businesses as a whole in most areas.
Xu added that China would use different approaches to attract foreign investment in small and medium enterprises, including establishing and improving credit guarantee system, upgrading credit scale for small and medium businesses, and supporting direct fund raising efforts of small and medium businesses in domestic market.  While supporting state large enterprises to go for IPO in overseas capital market, China also encourages its small and medium enterprises to do the same by selecting more qualified small and medium businesses for overseas IPO. China hopes EU and other will countries could invest in China's small and medium businesses．It will encourage the investment of foreign venture capital to let them play a part in the creation and development of China's R and D oriented small and medium enterprises.  The Chinese Government will guide the investment of venture capital and control the market entry of venture capital so as to regulate the market behavior of venture capital and establish and improve the withdrawal mechanism of venture capital aiming at small and medium businesses and associated management, creating fine environment for foreign venture capital in China.

Three Major Obstacles Removed

As disclosed recently by Hu Jingyan, Director, Dept. Of Foreign Investment, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, upon its accession to WTO, China would outdate its three compulsory regulations of "localization, foreign exchange equilibrium and export ration" on foreign invested businesses. Mr. Hu said that the Chinese government was working on the revision of relevant laws and by-laws in line with the requirements of WTO.
The proposed abolition of the so-called localization, foreign exchange equilibrium and export ration means when investing in China, foreign investors will no longer have to allow an equity proportion for Chinese partner, the Chinese government will no longer impose restrictions on the foreign exchanges used by foreign invested businesses. In the meanwhile, China will not impose any compulsory export ration on the products manufactured by foreign invested businesses. Hu adds that Chinese government will open its door to service and trade sectors that cover banking, insurance, telecommunication and commerce. However, China is not to open now nor will it in the future its defense industries, ideological sector and traditional treasuries such as cloisonné.

National Scientific Station in Arctic

China is planning to launch its second Arctic scientific expedition in the next five years and create a national scientific expedition station in the Arctic. The said initiative has been incorporated in the Master Plan for the Capacity Building of China's Polar Expeditions made by the State Marine Bureau for its activities in the 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-2005) period and is currently at the stage of project proposal for the approval of competent national authorities.

As provided by relevant international treaties, China is of the right to conduct non military activities in the fields of marine, industry, mineral and commerce over islands in the Arctic that is under the trusteeship of Norway. To facilitate Chinese scientists' continuous observations and studies and collecting the first hand data in the field of meteorology, hydrology, marine, ecology and biological resources in the Arctic, China is planning to establish a permanent working station able to accommodate a dozen of scientists on the island.
During the 10th Five-Year Plan period, China will enhance its input in polar scientific expeditions. In addition to the said Arctic station, a large Arctic scientific expedition is planned to be launched in the later 3 years of the period.
In addition, improvement and upgrading will be made to the facilities and instruments at Great Wall Station and Zhongshan Station in the Antarctic and similar improvement will also be made to the hardware systems such as information system, safe navigation system, living condition and experimental equipment aboard Snow Dragon, China's only polar expedition boat.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

First Chopper Internal Feed Governing Technique

On September 3, 2001, the chopper internal feed governor system independently developed by Baoding North Governor Co. Ltd. passed the technical approval checks.
Experts attending the verification believed that the said system has applied internal feed winding and chopper control in the rotor inverter on the basis of traditional cascade method，which made the system of the merits of lower AC pressure, smaller power, higher efficiency, lower cost and smaller harmonic component and higher power factor. The system is especially good for the energy efficient motor governor of large and medium fans and pumps. It is the first of its kind in China at internationally advanced level. So far more than 20 such systems found their applications in the power plants of Jinan and Liaocheng and water supply systems in Fuzhou, Shenyang and Shanhaiguan with the maximum volume reaching 2000KW/6KV.

Clinic Testing of Heavy Ion Cancer Treatment

The Chinese Academy of Sciences announced recently that China would soon land a breakthrough in treating cancers with heavy ion beams, a new radioactive treatment therapy that will make China the fourth country in the world enjoying the said technique in the world.
Heavy ion based cancer treatment used to be a project under the National Climb Program in the 9th Five-Year Plan (1996-2000) period. Physically located at  Lanzhou National Lab on Heavy Ion Accelerator, the said project is working on the existing large heavy ion device and the cooling storage ring of Langzhou Heavy Ion Accelerator that is currently under construction.
On the basis of their five-year study, the research team is planning to work on the biological effects of radioactive heavy ion beams on the new Lanzhou heavy ion accelerator, so as to explore the possibility and efficiency for treating cancers with radioactive ion beams. At present, the research team is preparing for the clinic study and planning to realize the treatment of shallow cancer with heavy ion beams in 2003. It is revealed that the phase II target will aim at the full treatment with such techniques in 2006.

China's New Anti-AIDS Drugs

Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry under the Chinese Academy of Sciences has made the debut of its 5 new anti-AIDS drugs. The major components of these new drugs are protease inhibitor. When using with other anti-virus drugs, they are able to reduce the AIDS viruses in the patients' blood by 90% or more. So far the synthesizing lines of these five drugs have been completed and will soon be put into mass production. They are expected to be exported to South Africa, Brazil and other countries next year.
It is reported that the Institute is of the world first class synthesizing technique for drugs of complicated composition. A number of anti-AIDS drug medium synthesized by the Institute two years ago have become the hot raw materials of pharmaceutical manufacturers in Japan and many other countries.

Electric Locomotive of Independent Intellectual Properties

On the morning of September 21, 2001, an AC-DC electric locomotive with China’s own independent intellectual property right, named Olympic Star rolled off the Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Manufacturer. The said locomotive is a project under the national program for key projects R and D and a result derived from two-year joint efforts for Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Manufacturer and Zhuzhou Institute of Locomotives. Thanks to the breakthroughs in a series of technical difficulties such as main current converter and traction motor, the said locomotive may reach a speed of 200 km per hour with its overall technical performance reaching the internationally advanced. The said locomotive will be running on the rail line between Beijing and Shenyang for China’s future express passenger transportation.

NEWS BRIEFS

China's Patent Applications

As shown by the statistics published by the Chinese State Intellectual Property Office, China has applauded for an increase of 24% of its patent application volume in the first half of 2001 to 99,550 cases against last year. Of the said growth, the shares of domestic and international applications went up by 26.8% and 12.2% respectively at 82,144 and 17,406 cases. The domestic growth was nearly 15% higher than that of the international.
Of these applications, invention, practical utility and design took the respective percentage of 30.1%, 40.4% and 29.5%, or the corresponding growth rate 18%, 22.7% and 32.8%. Of the 30,022 invention patent applications, domestic application occupied 49.7% while the international 50.3% to 14,923 and 15,099 cases respectively with 27.4% and 10% for their respective growth. The domestic growth is 17% higher than that of the international.
In the first half of 2001, Chinese patent authorities have granted 51,156 patent rights, or 0.2% lower than that of the same period of last year.  Despite of the growth of 27% for invention patents granted, practical utility and design have seen obvious stagnant growth.

Steady Growth of High Tech Import and Export

As shown by the statistics, China's high tech products import and export enjoyed a steady growth in the first half of this year, reaching nearly USD 50 billion with 31.4% and 27.4% up for import and export respectively against that of the same period of last year.
It is briefed that China's high tech products export growth has taken 48.7% of the nation's total export growth. Of the high tech export, the volume created by computer and telecommunication sector has reached USD 15.6 billion, which demonstrated the healthy development trend of China's export of such products. In view of high tech import, the one on materials went up by 74.8% against that of the same period of last year, which became the sector witnessing the fastest growth in import followed by photoelectronic and biological products.
As far as the import and export trade balance is concerned, China shall enhance the international competitiveness of its electronic products as the unfavorable imbalance of such products reached more than USD 8 billion, being the sector deploring for the largest unfavorable imbalance. Meanwhile, it shows that the domestic market has a strong call for such products and China shall strengthen its self-supply capacity and associated international competitiveness.

New Development on Beijing Positron-Electron Collider

As disclosed at the 2nd Asian Conference on Particle Accelerator opened on September 17, 2001, China will improve the performance of Beijing Positron-Electron Collider through its phase II project with an investment of RMB 400 million so as to create conditions for further exploring the mysteries of micro world and maintain China＇s leading position in the international high energy physics community.
From 1999 till today, China has invested RMB 90 million in the improvement and pre-study of the future development of the said Positron-Electron Collider. At present, the feasibility report on phase II project has been finalized and the preliminary design launched. The phase II project is scheduled to start from the middle of next year and get ready to provide service for its clients at the end of 2006. The phase II project will enhance radioactive energy and make powerful means available for exploring the sophisticated compositions such as of protein and nanometer.
In the next five years or a longer period of time, Beijing Positron-Electron Collider will upgrade its brightness by two quantitative levels at 100 times brighter than that of the present. That means the work load to be increased in the next year will be equal to that of a century in the past. It is reported that the applications on Beijing Positron-Electron Collider in the last couple of years have produced 50 million pieces information on particles.

China Absorbed Foreign Capital USD 27 Billion

It is reported that the first eight months of this year has seen China's absorption of foreign capital as much as USD 27.4 billion, or 20% and more up than that of the same period of last year.  It is expected that the actual utilization of foreign capital in the year will land a recovery growth at USD 46 billion, or 10% up against last year. As shown by the statistics, in the first eight months this year, China has approved the establishment of new foreign invested businesses of 16,344 in number, or 18.6% more than the same period of last year with contractual amount amounting to USD 43.748 billion, or 31.6% up compared with the same period. Up to date, China has, on a cumulative basis, approved the establishment of foreign invested businesses 380,000 in number with a contractual amount of USD 720.4 billion and the actually paid foreign capital USD 376 billion.  The foreign businesses that have put into operation reached 180,000 in number with direct employment of 21 million people, or 10% of the total urban labor force in the country.

Automatic Weather Observations for Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Mr. Qin Dahe, Administrator of Chinese Meteorological Services expressed recently that in the next 5 years, China would establish a modernized atmospheric observational system over Qinghai-Tibet Plateau including the deployment of the new generation weather radar system in the areas like Lahsa and automatic weather stations in the west section of Tibet where weather observation stations are scarcely distributed, so as to make the first hand data available for the studies of the impacts of the Plateau on the global climate system. Specifically, China will establish on the Plateau an integrated ground and upper air weather observation network with rationalized distribution and highly automatic process while accelerating the construction of new generation weather radar and upper air sounding system, steadily developing auto station, unmanned auto weather station, climate station and auto precipitation station, developing satellite based remote sensing application technologies, establishing stable geostationary and polar weather satellite receiving system, establishing ground receiving station for satellite based earth observation system, and expanding the applications of satellite based remote sensing monitoring.
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