|
CHINA SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
NEWSLETTER
The Ministry
of Science and Technology
People's Republic of
China
N0.273 October 10,2001
IN THIS ISSUE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
News
Guidelines for Sparkle Program
Public Bidding for
Major R and D Projects
China's Manned Space Program
Intellectual Property Demonstration Park
Preliminary Progress for China's Biochips
Birds Gene Studies
China's First Air-born
Biological Base
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPECIAL
ISSUES
News Guidelines for Sparkle
Program
The Chinese Ministry of Science and
Technology has recently published the Development Guidelines
for Sparkle Program in the 10th Five-Year Plan period
(2001-2005). The Guidelines have defined priorities for the
activities under the Program in the said period. Its major
objectives are: promote the overall upgrading of innovation
capacity of rural S and T activities through supporting the
leading enterprises under the Program; promote the
establishment of rural S and T innovation system through the
construction of environment friendly to rural S and T
activities; and improve farmers' cultural quality and living
conditions through technical training and demonstration.
During the 10th Five-Year Plan period, the state will
organize and stimulate local authorities to implement the
follow eight priority activities under the Sparkle Program:
* Implement S and T activities related to
agricultural industrialization process with agricultural
produce and by-products processing as the breaking point;
* Strengthen innovation capacity building of leading
industries under the Program, aiming at improving the
innovation capacity of these enterprises;
* Implement
S and T activities on rural information process, focusing on
the construction of S and T information service network in
rural areas;
* Organize demonstrations on modernized
construction of small township in rural areas, aiming at
improving the living environment of rural population;
* Tap up human resources in rural areas, focusing on
improving farmers' quality;
* Implement the west
development related activities under the Program, with
priorities on demonstrations for sustainable development;
* Construct industrial belts under the Program,
focusing on technical integration and resources
optimization;
* Internationalize Sparkle Program,
aiming at enhancing the international competitiveness of
industries under the Program.
The Guidelines
stipulate that government at different levels shall enhance
their input in Sparkle Program through strengthening their
leading role in Sparkle activities, and construct fine
environment for the implementation of the Program,
establishing new operating mechanism for the Program and
ensuring the smooth implementation of the Guidelines.
Public Bidding for Major R and D
Projects
To fully embody the principle of
fairness, openness and justice, the Chinese Ministry of
Science and Technology has opened on October 9,2001 six of
its priority projects under the National Key Technologies R
and D Program for the 10th Five-Year Plan period for public
bidding. Under the general topic "Research and
Development of Scientific Instruments", six sub-topics
made their debut. They are research and development of
chromatograph and dedicated components, spectroscopic
analyzer, nuclear magnetic resonance chemical analyzer,
electrochemical analyzer, general software platform for
scientific instruments, and supporting devices and system of
scientific instruments.
The following targets shall
be met through research and development activities under
these topics: realize leap forward development in the fields
of underground nuclear magnetism, electrochemistry and
software, find solutions to a number of world advanced
technologies, successfully turn out 20 or more series of new
products of independent intellectual property rights and
advanced technologies, and obtain 30 or more patent rights,
so as to improve the R and D level of China's analytical
instruments and raise the domestic market equity of
China-made analytical instruments from 27% at the end of the
9th Five-Year Plan period to 40%, double the export volume
of China-made instruments, create 2 to 4 analytical
instruments manufacturing bases whose respective sale
revenues exceed RMB 100 million, develop a relatively stable
scientific instrument R and D contingent and enhance the
sustainable development capacity.
Up to date, there
have been 43 bidders registering for the tendering of the
said six projects. Among these bidders, sat the
representatives from research institutions, universities,
large and medium enterprises and more
eye-catchingly，the ones from private businesses.
China's Manned Space Program
At
the High Tech Forum for China Space Industry held recently
in Beijing, Mr. Luan Enjie, Administrator of Chinese
National Space Agency expressed that China has defined its
targets for the development of its civic space activities in
the early 21st century as follows: establish satellite based
public platform, develop new generation carrier rocket
prototypes, create integrated space-earth network system;
and conduct space research and deeper space exploration and
manned space flight.
To realize the targets, the
field of remote sensing will see the establishment of a
space-earth based integrated network system equipped with
multiple remote sensing tools and capable of long-term
stable operation; in the field of satellite based navigation
positioning, a satellite based navigation positioning
applications industry shall be preliminarily established; in
the field of satellite based telecommunication, domestic
market needs shall be basically met through creating China's
own satellite based telecommunication industry, which is to
strive for entering the international market; the field of
carrier rockets will witness the fully enhanced overall
capacity and level of China's carrier rockets and the
development of new generation carrier rocket prototypes,
which will enhance China's competitiveness for international
commercial launching activities, the realization of manned
space flight and the creation of China's own manned space
system; in the field of space science and deeper space
exploration, space scientific studies and deeper space
exploration aiming at moon expedition will be conducted so
as to win China an important position in the world space
community and raise China's deeper space exploration
technology onto a higher level.
China's
Modernized Mapping Industry
It is reported
that China's mapping industry has basically materialized the
scheduled changes from its traditional mode to the
modernized one. Remarkable achievements have been
made in a number of areas such as digitalized mapping
production and applications, research and applications of
space positioning techniques and fast development and
extensive applications of geographic information system
techniques. The industrialized applications of advanced
mapping technologies also applauded for fine progress.
To meet the demands of the national economy and the
social information process, R and D personnel in the field
of mapping industry have established in the country a number
of digital mapping production bases of advanced technical
level and certain scales through the applications of 3S and
networking techniques and created digital production lines
integrated with data collection, processing, updating and
distribution.
On the said basis, they have worked out
database for geographic features and names at 1:250,000 and
basic geographic information products for the seven major
rivers and valleys in the country. In addition, they have
kicked off the construction of basic geographic database at
1: 50,000 and 1: 10,000 for the whole nation as
well as localities, and basically established a national
high accuracy GPS control network and earth
database. Progress has also been made in the construction of
geographic information system tailored to China's own needs.
Chinese mapping community have provided fine mapping
services for more than 100 major projects related to
scientific research, engineering construction, resources
survey and environmental protection including monitoring
China's earth crust movement, population census and fast
disaster analysis.
Intellectual Property
Demonstration Park
China's intellectual
property demonstration park was put into operation on
September 21, 2001. Wuhan based Donghu New Technology
Development Park became the first of the said demonstration
in the country.
It is briefed that being a focus on
intellectual property activities in Wuhan Municipality, the
Park has developed numerous high technologies and associated
businesses of independent intellectual properties. As shown
by the statistics provided, last year had witnessed 428
domestic patents applications filed by the Park, or 24.3% of
the total patent applications filed by the city in the same
year, and 8 international patent applications，and 350
trademark applications, or 19% of the city's total in the
same year.
It is reported that during the 10th
Five-Year Plan period, the Park will establish a dedicated
mechanism for coordinating intellectual property management
covering patent, trademark, software and IC layout design
and protection of new plant species as well as improve
social brokerage services for IP agent, litigation,
evaluation, information consultation and technology
ownership trading. 95% of the high tech businesses,
universities and research institutions stationed in the Park
will establish their own IP management system.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Preliminary Progress for China's Biochips
The United Medical School and Tsinghua
University created Beijing Bo'ao Biochip Co. Ltd. on
September 2000 with an initial investment of RMB 200 million
by the State Treasury as its equity. As of July 2001, thanks
to the further investment of 5 other venture capital
investors, the registered capital of the company has gone up
to RMB 300 million. To meet the needs of R and D and
associated industrialization, the State Development Planning
Commission approved the establishment of Beijing National
Engineering Research Center on Biochips. On September 25,
2001, the said Center broke the ground at Zhongguancun Life
Science Park for its official construction.
Bo'ao and
the engineering center have worked out the world-first
active electric magnetic biochip, filed 21 patent
applications and published 20 academic papers both at home
and abroad and three monographs in the United States. Bo'ao
has also achieved a series of high caliber results on
neuro-biochips, 2-D capillary electric pulse chips, protein
chips and medicine screening chips. In addition, Bo'ao has
harvested phased results of 16 series of gene diagnosing
chips for 140 epidemic diseases, nanometer based probes, 3-D
sophisticated mechanical arms. Its first products for the
applications of research and development are expected to
make their debut at the end of next year.
3-D
Identification Techniques
The so-called
infinite 3-D code generation and identification system
jointly developed by the Photoelectric Research Institute of
Shenzhen University and Shenzhen Hebihui S and T Company has
recently passed the verification checks organized by the
Chinese Ministry of Information Technology and Industries.
It is briefed that compared with laser based identification
techniques, the said new system is of better confidentiality
and while compared with the traditional one or two
dimensional techniques, it has higher information intensity
and larger volume. The system can not only work out
inimitable ID documents that can be identified by terminal
electronic equipment but also can provide strong online
dynamic or static management for different ID documents,
enjoying a wide application perspective on identification
and management of IDs, invoices and products marks.
China's New Anti-cancer Drugs
The research team headed by Prof. Jiao Binghua
of No. 2 Chinese Military Medical School have worked out new
generation anti-cancer drugs of low toxicity on the basis of
their decade efforts. The project named restructuring human
new cancer necrosin was recently rated as a fine R and D
result derived from National Key Technologies R and D
Program for the 9th Five-Year Plan period.
Prof. Jiao
and others started their in-depth researches on cancer
necrosin since 1986 under the support of National Key
Projects R and D Program for the 8th and 9th Five-Year Plan
periods, Chinese Military Medical Fund and Shanghai
Municipal S and T Development Fund. They developed
for the first time in the world two rounds based genetic
expansion and augmentation approach and successfully have
new human cancer necrosin restructured with low toxicity and
high efficiency. Clinic applications on 300 and more cases
have proved that the said new drug is of an
efficiency of 30%-35% on the treatment of lung, liver,
kidney, breast and lymphatic cancers without apparent
toxicant reaction.
China's Highway Information
Demonstration Platform
Thanks to their
painstaking efforts for more than two years, China Highway
Information Demonstration Network Project, a priority under
the National 863 Program implemented by nearly 1,000 S and T
personnel organized by the Chinese Ministry of Science and
Technology passed the experts' verification checks on
September 29,2001.
Up to date, there have been only
two or three countries in the world who are able to
manufacture key equipment for providing new generation
Internet services. The establishment of China's highway
information demonstration network will stimulate the
development of China's entire online information industry
and win China a precious advanced position in the world
information technology community.
The said highway
network is connected to Tsinghua University, Peking
University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Post
and Telecommunication University. It is briefed that the
network is able to transmit the data equivalent to 10,000
books with 250,000 Chinese characters in each in a matter of
just a second, or the entire information of a large library
in a minute.
It is reported that the network has so
far shown fine performance and is ready for expanded
applications. The research team working on the network will,
under the strong support of the state, continue
their efforts for a new milestone: super highway network
during the 10th Five-Year Plan period.
NEWS
BRIEFS
Birds Gene Studies
Following their studies on rice and domestic
pig genomes, Chinese scientists recently announced that they
would soon begin their studies on birds genome. The said
efforts will mainly aim at domestic poultry as they possess
almost all the genetic features of birds. Experts believe
that a clear genetic map on domestic poultry may lead to the
solutions to many scientific puzzles related to birds life.
It is briefed that up to date there is no country in
the world having launched large-scale studies on birds
genome, though scientists have long wanted to find answers
to some puzzles such as birds' blind flying and capability
for magnetic positioning and direction telling in pitch dark
night. It is believed that the studies of birds genome will
help to solve these puzzles.
China's First
Air-born Biological Base
Dongfanghong Air-born
Biological Industrial Base, the first of its kind in the
country and enjoying the world advanced level announced its
official inauguration on September 28, 2001 in Beijing. The
Beijing Dongfanghong Biotech Co.Ltd. subordinated to China
Space S and T Group has invested RMB 20 million to have the
said base constructed in the short period of one year.
Consisting of large biological lab center, pilot workshop
and GMP standardized production sites, the base is able to
materialize its production through an integrated production
line from R and D to pilot manufacturing and further to its
terminal mass production.
It is reported that being a
core of China's space biotechnology, Dongfanghong will kick
off the so-called China Air-born Biotech Incubators Project
so as to take full advantage of its own superiority in the
field, encouraging the organic marriage between capital and
air-born biotechniques, continuously working out the
products of internationally advanced level and rendering
further contributions to promoting China's air-born S and T
industry.
China's Magnetic Suspension Aircraft
It is reported that the agreement on China-US
joint development of US designed magnetic suspension
aircraft was inked on September 26, 2001 in Chengdu, Sichuan
Province. According to the agreement five parties from both
China and US will jointly make the investment in the
establishment of the said joint venture. Taking advantage of
the US patent technology, the said joint venture
will make itself a base for manufacturing magnetic
suspension aircraft. It is expected that the first
magnetic aircraft able to house 100 and more passengers will
be off the assembly line in 2004.
China's
Largest S and T Library
New Library of Chinese
Academy of Sciences, the largest and most intelligent of its
kind in China made its debut on September 28, 2001 in Zhong
Guancun. With an area of 18,000 m2 and floor space of 40,000
m2, the New Library claims an inventory with as many as 3.2
million books and 1 million non-printed publications. The
New Library also has the Lecture Hall equipped with
sophisticated equipment and spacious Exhibition Hall, Hall
of Fame, Functional Hall and Education and Training Center.
Its Archives House is proud of the collection of 550,000
volumes of different documents and files.
To improve
the modernized management level and service efficiency of
the Library and Archives House and take full advantage of
their functions and roles, the new structures have been
applied with numerous sophisticated technologies and high
intelligent systems such as automatic building control,
security control, integrated lining system, electronic
conference, able to provide safe, efficient, comfortable and
convenient working environment for readers.
Bodao's National Post-Doctorate
Station
Thanks to the joint approval of the
Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Science
and Technology and the Ministry of Education, the Post
Doctorate R and D Station created by Ningbo based Bodao
Shareholding Co. Ltd. announced its official inauguration
recently. Having placed the constant personnel training and
S and T innovations in the first place, Bodao now has a
professional R and D contingent made up of 200 people
including 20 or so with doctorate degrees. The contingent
has turned out series of major R and D results that filled
domestic technical blanks on paging system in Chinese, stock
information paging system and PDA mobile telephone. The
establishment of the said station will become a strong
back-up for the Company's future R and D
efforts.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
