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No.165

CHINA  SCIENCE  AND  TECHNOLOGY
NEWSLETTER
The Ministry of Science and Technology
People's Republic of China

N0.165 October 10,1998


IN THIS ISSUE

  • China's Transgenic Rice Breedings Resistant to Lepidopteron

  • Two Superb Rice Breedings

  • World First Anti Virus Product

  • Top Ten Environment Friendly Cities in China

  • China's First Environment Friendly Natural Gas Bus Line

  • No Sales for Cars of Unqualified Tail Gas Emission


RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

China's Transgenic Rice Breedings
Resistant to Lepidopteron

  Aresearch group headed by Mr. Gao Mingwei and Mr. Shu Qingyao, a research fellow and an associate research fellow with Institute of Nuclear Agriculture, Zhejiang University have achieved a major progress in developing pest resistant rice breedings through cultivating Bt genes on crop stalk medium. They declared on September 12, 1998 that they have successfully worked out lepidopteron resistant rice breedings, the first of their kinds in the world.

   The said development is a major breakthrough in China's transgenic pest resistant rice breeding efforts. Pests will die after eating the genetically transferred crops. The result indicates that in the future no pesticide is needed to prevent against such pests.

    Successfully introducing Bt's pest killing protein into different rice species through crop stalk bacteria medium, the research group has developed, through 3 years and 5 generations indoor and field experiments, high generation transgenic breedings of 100% killing effect on 7 lepidopteron pests including stripped borer, yellow borer and pink borer.

    Having assessed the research results, the experts panel who made the verifications believed that it is of internationally advanced level in terms of improvement of breeding technical system of transgenic rice species and high generation rice breedings of lepidopteron resistance and stable genetic characteristics. It is of important significance to further improvement of the breedings, reducing pesticide applications and associated contamination and high rice yield.

Two Superb Rice Breedings

   China has successfully worked out two new hybrid rice breedings capable of producing a yield 10 to 20 percent higher than that of current high yield rice breedings.

    Growing of the new species in limited areas has shown that one of the two new breedings "65396" may produce a daily yield of 100 kilos, calculated on its whole production cycle and reached the international standard for the socalled superb scale. Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Agriculture recently held an on-the-spot investigation meeting in Jiangsu Province. Experts who attended the investigations pointed out that the new breedings developed by Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Agriculture have demonstrated their fine features such as high yield, fine quality and multiple resistance in an extensive growing experiments. They are expected to be new generation breedings to be grown in Yangtze River valley and Huanghe River and Huaihe River basins. The development has opened a new approach for increasing rice production in the country.

    The two new hybrid combinations "65002" and "65396" developed by Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Agriculture have been proven to be the optimized grouping among similar studies. In 1996, two new breedings were grown in Hainan and Jiangsu provinces respectively on a limited scale. Last two years have witnessed extensive growth of "65002" over 121 demonstration bases (about 1666 hectares)in more than ten provinces in the country showing high yield and strong resistance to lodging and diseases with excellent grain quality.

    Experts have witnessed in their investigations that new breedings have presented fine growing conditions for large grains. It is expected that its per mu yield may reach 700 to 800 kilos this year, 10 to 20% more than that of current high yield species Shanyou 63.

    Two-line hybrid rice breeding technique is one of major projects under national "863" high tech program. Comparing with conventional methods, the new technique has the merits of free combination and simple seed reproduction, especially good for taking advantage of different hybrid rice species. Thanks to a decade study, Chinese rice experts have developed a group of optimized combinations, of which the said two new species have told their successful stories in extensive growing demonstration.

World First Anti Virus Product

   Beijing Guanqunjinchen Software Co. Ltd. officially announced recently in Beijing that it has developed an active inner core technology and associated products that are able to kill any computer viruses on its own. Anti-computer-virus authorities of Chinese Ministry of Public Security believed that the new computer virus killer is the first of its kind in the world capable of killing viruses in the right moment just when viruses attempt to hurt computer software and hardware.

    The latest new anti-virus technology named as Kill98 is composed of two major sections serving both for single computer and network environment. It is a complete, strong and healthy active inner-core anti-virus solution.

    On the basis of in-depth studies of computer operational systems produced by major international computer manufacturers, CA Co. the world second largest software manufacturer and Beijing Guanqunjinchen Co. jointly realized seamless interfacing between different anti-virus modules and operational and network systems. Applied with different real time and bottom programming techniques, the new technology functions as a nail on the inner core of the operational system. As a result, the nail eradicates the spread and damage of viruses on active inner core system. It will automatically kill any invading viruses without user's interference, which solved the difficult anti-virus problems that could not be solved with traditional means.

    It is briefed by the experts that active core technology is a new generation anti-virus technology survived for computer development in the 21st century and will shape a new development in the anti-virus industry.

Major Breakthrough for China's
Soilless Potato Growing

   Researchers of Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Agriculture have successfully developed baseless spraying method for growing detoxicated potatoes.

    The said technique is a process in which nutritious fluid is sprayed over potato plants on a regular basis with root systems being kept in dark condition so as to readjust and control potato growth. Baseless potato spraying method is free from the restriction of soil and climate conditions and may manipulate and control potato's growing condition. It is good for industrialized production, automatic management, expand the reproduction of seed potatoes and tap up yield increase potentials. In the meanwhile, people will be able to have an objective and clear observations of growing condition of potato root system and its fruiting, which is important to understand the growing process of potato. The newly developed technique has not only filled in a blank in China's potato growing technology but also made China's detoxicated potato growing reach internationally advanced level and made extensive growing detoxicated potato in the country possible.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Top Ten Environment Friendly Cities in China

    China's National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) unveiled its list of ten top environment friendly cities in the country on September 18, 1998. They are:Guilin, Shantou, Haikou, Chengdu, Ningbo, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Suzhou, Yantai and Beijing.

    As briefed by NEPA officials, the result was made on the basis of comprehensive studies of relevant indicators such as environmental quality, pollution control and environment management among 46 municipalities including the ones under direct leadership of the central government, provincial capital cities and tourist cities.

    It is reported that Zhuhai, Shenzhen, Xiamen and Dalian were not included in the list as they are better than other cities and have been named as model cities in the country.

    In the meanwhile, NEPA published categorized assessment results on investigated cities. Of the investigated, the top ten cities enjoying best environmental quality are: Shantou, Chengdu, Zhanjiang, Wenzhou, Guilin, Lianyungang, Yantai, Ningbo, Beihai and Nanchang.

    Changsha and Shanghai are the cities that have successfully curbed the pollution in their respective cities with the finest examples of environment construction being Guilin and Nanjing. Shantou and Haikou ranked in the first two for their environment management.

    NEPA officials said last year had witnessed more attention paid to formulating local laws and regulations on environmental protection and enhanced investment in the area. For example, Beijing Municipal Government published Beijing Municipal Management Methods on Motor Vehicle Tail Gas Pollution Control and invested 27 billion yuan to clarify the environment so as to make Beijing's air quality reach grade "fine" in 2002.

China's First Environment Friendly
Natural Gas Bus Line

   China's first environment friendly natural gas bus line was put into operation in Xi'an in mid-September 1998, earmarked the new progress of natural gas bus line upgrading project launched in the city.

    Started from Zhangjiapu in the northern section of the city and terminated in Changan county in the south, the gas bus line runs through the city proper with a total length of 20 km. 50 gasified buses have been put into running in the initial phase. In the meanwhile, a gas station with an investment of 1 million yuan has also been put into operation. It is reported that current fuel consumption only counts half of the past when using natural gas, landed a 90% reduction of tail gas exhaustion.

    It is reported that being a natural gas bus demonstration base in the country, Xi'an has steadily promoted its natural gas bus transformation project. It has planned that it will gasify 1000 buses before 2000 and as many as 30,000 buses, taxi and governmental cars will be gasified in 2010 and 150 natural gas stations constructed in the city.

Non-lead Gas in Two Years

    China's National Environmental Protection Agency announced recently that Administrative Office under State Council had issued a circular appealing for non-lead gas used in the country in 2000. This will not only forcefully promote China's environmental protection activities but will also accelerate the technical advance of automobile and petrochemical industry.

    The Circular requests that starting from January 1st, 2000, all gas manufacturers in the country shall produce non-lead gas instead of the lead one. In the meanwhile, oil tanks produced by auto manufacturers shall be able to contain non-lead gas and newly manufactured cars shall be installed with electronic gas injectors with exhauster cleaners. Auto manufacturers shall be responsible for the adaptation of the cars off the assembly lines or still in the factories that cannot use non-lead gas.

    The Circular also requests that starting from July 1st, 2000, all gas stations in the country shall sell non-lead gas.

    It is reported that so far 18 cities including Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai have completely or partially realized non-lead gas process.

    Starting from January 1st 1999, China will increase consumption tax rating for lead gas so as to ensure the realization of non-lead gas process.


5 Decades Change China's Natural
Ecological System for Better

    At World Conference on Forest Genetics and Wood Improvement held recently in Beijing, 100 senior forestry experts and scholars from 34 countries believed that China whose afforested area ranked in the first place of the world is a good sample for developing high quality and yield tree species with the assistance of genetic technology.

    Jiang Zehui, President, Chinese Academy of Forestry attributed this achievement to the pioneer role played by scientific community in the sector. Forestry research institutes distributed in 248 prefectures or above, forestry departments or institutes in 80 universities and 10,000 dedicated researcher population in the sector have made, through scientific radiation and promotion, fast growing and fine quality species grown in extensive areas and basically established intensive operational bases for artificial forests in the country's different climate belts. China's regular tree breeding technologies are also of world advance level. Combined with biotechnology and conventional techniques, Chinese researchers have pushed tree breedings up to a new stage.

    Wang Zhibao, Director, State Forestry Administration said the Administration has decided to kick off in the year 6 priority projects relating to Huanghe River, Yangtze River and major wind and sand areas and national natural forest resources protection. In the principle of integrated management and development of mountains, waters, floods, draughts, wind and sand and taking into account both priority and general, China will accelerate its pace constructing ecological environment and change its ecological system for better in 5 decades.

No Sales for Cars of Unqualified Tail Gas Emission

    Mr. Zhao Yixin, Director of Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau announced on September 21, 1998 that cars that are not equipped with electronic injectors will not be allowed to be sold in the market starting from January 1st 1999 and traffic control departments of public security authorities will not issue car license for them either.

    The said effort is a new measure adopted by Beijing Municipal Government on controlling tail gas pollution. Beijing Municipal Technical Supervision Bureau published its new tail gas exhaustion standards (equal to the level adopted in Europe in the early 1990s) on August 1998 in which it promulgated that new cars rolled off the assembly lines shall be installed with electronic fuel injector with improved catalytic cleaner. The new standards will go into effect on January 1, 1999.

    Mr. Zhao also briefed that at present stage the total number of motor vehicles in the city has reached 1.3 million and more with a consecutive growth rate at 15%. Cars whose life has gone beyond use limit or with poor maintenance are responsible for 50% of HC and CO emissions though they are only proportioned 20% in the total number.


    In the meanwhile, Beijing municipal traffic control authorities will practice car outdating system in a more strict manner. It will outdate in a compulsory manner motor vehicles whose operational life has gone beyond the proposed limit or mileage has exceeded 400,000 km.

Beijing's First Compressed
Natural Gas Station


    Beijing's first compressed natural gas station was put into operation on September 16, 1998.

    To improve Beijing's air quality, Beijing Natural Gas Transmission Company has invested 6 million yuan in constructing the first compressed natural gas tank station in the city for the purpose of increasing more natural gas auto vehicles in the city. The station consists of master and sub-gas tanks equipped with US made compressors and double gas guns. Supported by domestic made high pressure dehydrating devices and natural gas power generator, the master tank is able to provide 7460 m3 of gas(sufficient for the consumption of about 100 large buses). Equipped with trailers and large pipe cylinders imported from US, the sub-tank is able to further enhance gas supply capacity.


Comments or inquiries on editorial matters or Newsletter content should be directed to:Mr. Dong Jianlong, Department of International Cooperation, MOST 15B, Fuxing Road Beijing 100862, PR China  Tel: (8610)68512650 Fax: (8610) 68512594, or Mr. Wang Jianping, Editor,NEWSLETTER, 15 Fuxing Road Beijing 100038, PR China, Tel:(8610) 68515544 Ext. 2921