- Development Targets of High Tech Development Zones
- Materialized Ahead of Schedule
Madame Zhu Lilan, Chinese Minister of Science and Technology, briefed on March 16, 2000 that 53 national high tech development zones in the country had sustained a high growth trend last year by materializing their national targets one year ahead of schedule and they have become important bases for China’s high tech development.
Madame Zhu added that last year witnessed the integrated revenues from technology, industry and trade and aggregate output values of these high tech development zones reaching Rmb 656 billion and 566 billion respectively, landed respective increases of 35% and 30% against that of the previous year. As a result, the enterprises whose output value have exceeded Rmb 100 million reached 800 in number including some domestic renowned enterprises such as Legend, Haier, Hisense, Fangzheng.
17,900 enterprises located in national high tech development zones have created profits of Rmb 35.6 billion, tax paid Rmb 27.5 billion and foreign exchange earned through export USD 10.6 billion (a breakthrough of USD 10 billion for the first time in the sector).
Madame Zhu said, by taking advantage of the fine environment created by the state and locality, these high tech development zones have become major industrial development bases for electronic information, new materials, biotechnology, integrated optical-mechanical-electronic system, new energy and environmental protection while realizing a sustained high growth.
To promote the industrialization of China’s high technologies and optimize industrial structures so as to spur the sustained, fast and healthy economic development in the country, in a period of more than a decade China has established 53 national high tech development zones in economically and technologically developed areas such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Xi’an and Suzhou on the basis of sharing the experience of foreign high tech gardens. The industrial process of high tech results has been greatly encouraged through favorable policy and treatment offers. The management committee of the above mentioned development zones are usually chaired by executive deputy mayors or even mayors so as to show the importance attached to them by the local government.
At present, high tech industry has become the sector of fastest growth and best perspectives in the country.
Industrialization Bases for 863 Research Results
The first industrialization base for research results of National 863 Program was officially put into operation on Feb. 26, 2000 in Shenzhen. This is a new initiative after 14-year implementation of National 863 Program.
Li Xueyong, Vice Minister of Science and Technology, said the Central Government has made a new plan for accelerating the industrialization process of high level research results while steadily promoting the implementation of phase II 863 projects. It is planed to select 16 enterprises in the country to be industrialization bases for 863 research results and Shenzhen Kexing Bioproducts Co. Ltd. is the first one.
Located at socalled Biological Valley in Shenzhen, Kexing is the largest high tech company producing biological products in the country. Jointly operated by Weiming Biological Group of Peking University and US Handing Asia and Pacific Venture Investment Fund, its new product Sairuojin interferon is the first industrialized biological product in China’s 863 Program and also the first genetic engineering drug approved by Ministry of Health for its mass production. The company is proud of its first class scientists’ team headed by Dr. Chen Zhangliang and well-weathered senior management team. At present, the Company is of an annual capacity for 20 million interferon capsules, 60% of the domestic market.
It is reported that after being named as an industrialization base for 863 research results, Kexing is planning to expand its business by constructing a socalled Shenzhen Peking University Biological Valley on the existing basis. With its major products centered around hot genetically engineering products such as interferon, insulin, sinalbin-I and sinalbin- II and human growth hormone, the new biological valley will expect an investment of Rmb 300 million for its phase one project among its total investment of Rmb 700 million.
NNSF Supports Senior Young Scientists
The Training Program of Chinese National Natural Science Foundation has applauded for its outstanding contributions to sustained support for a basic research contingent of 60,000 scientists as well as for its discovering, nurturing and attracting a group of senior young scientists.
Chen Jia’er, Director of NNSF and an academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, briefed that China has established a funding system for talents supporting and nurturing activities composed of Youth Scientific Fund, National Fund for Outstanding Young Scientists and National Fund for Basic Research Talents Training.
Up to date, Youth Scientific Fund has financed over 6000 young scientists and National Fund for Outstanding Young Scientists has financed 559 outstanding young scholars. Since its founding two years ago, Overseas and Hong Kong Young Scholar Cooperative Research Funds have supported 84 young scholars working overseas or in Hong Kong. A dedicated fund on short term working or lecturing for scholars who are studying abroad has financed 1700 and more personnel.
Chen Jia’er added that among the heads of common projects under NNSF, the proportion of young scholars under age of 35 have gone up from 1.3% in 1986 to 28.3% in 1999 and under age of 45 from 12.2% in 1986 to 64.6% in 1999.
Conferring its award once a year, National Fund for Outstanding Young Scientists was created in 1994 to support young scientists under the age of 45 for their outstanding achievements.
Overseas Young Scholar Cooperative Research Fund and Hong Kong Young Scholar Cooperative Research Fund were first established in 1998 to assist the cooperative researches between overseas young scholars, who are unable to settle down in China, and domestic research institutions so as to bring new academic thinking and technologies back home.
National Basic Science Personnel Nurturing Fund was officially founded in 1996. Each year the central government will allocate Rmb 60 million from its financial sources to support the Fund, amounting to Rmb 300 million in the five-year period from 1996-2000.
Major Progress in Diabetes Treatment Studies
A research group headed by Prof. Wang Zhili, a visiting scholar in UK, have announced a breakthrough progress in genetic therapy for diabetes. They have successfully planted human insulin genes into mouse
’s mussel cells and made these cells of insulin secretion function.
Through picking up the cells from patient’s own body and genetically modified these cells to be of insulin secretion function, Prof. Wang who is now working on diabetes at UK Imperial Polytech Medical School and Dr. Lu Qilong, a senior research fellow working for UK Medical Research Center, and their team have achieved phased success.
As disclosed by Prof. Wang, their next phase target is to nurture different kinds of mice affected by diabetes and inject corresponding insulin genes into their mussel cells. Meanwhile, they are working on direct injecting genetically modified insulin genes into mice’s mussel cells and have preliminarily overcome the shortcomings of poor stability and low efficiency. The new therapy will eventually turn out a simplified and more efficient therapy for diabetes patients and is of great importance to the diabetes treatment.
Chinese Made New Airplanes
China
’s latest new model of feeder liner MA-60 had its demonstration flight in Beijing on March 12, 2000, which marked a remarkable progress achieved by China’s aviation industry in making modern advanced passenger airliners.
MA-60 was developed and manufactured by Xi’an Aircraft Industry Group subordinated to China’s First Group of Aviation Industry in order to meet China’s market call for feeder liners. Designed with upper single wings, dual turbine engines, the short and medium haul feeder liner is the first of its kind in China. It is designed, manufactured and tested in strict accordance with international standards and China’s own CCAR25 provisions. The liner is 24.708 meters long, 8.853 meters high, with a wingspan of 29.2 meters and 56 to seats.
It is reported that MA-60 was granted with model certificate by China Civil Aviation Administration for flight permit on May 1998.
It is predicted that China will have a domestic market demand for 400 feeder liners in next 2 decades and great market perspectives are expected in Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America.
China’s New Auto Meteorological Stations
A new automatic meteorological station, which was developed on our own, has recently passed approval check. Experts believed that the new auto meteorological station would save human resources while enhancing observation density and improving weather forecasting capability.
It is reported that the new integrated automatic meteorological station named CAWS600 is of improved automation and wide range functions. With an all-weather working capability, it is able to automatically collect and process weather data in an accurate and timely manner and its general performance has reached internationally advanced level of similar systems.
At present, China has 2600 ground meteorological observation stations which are basically operated manually and consume vast resources. Many of these meteorological stations are located in remote areas with poor accessibility and conditions where meteorological workers have to stand harsh living conditions. The new system will be mainly distributed over no-man areas so as to free more meteorological people from working in difficult areas while keeping different weather processes under meteorologists’ observation.
It is reported that the new system will be put into mass production on the basis of its prototype so as to further promote the automation process of China’s weather observation system, improving China’s monitoring and prediction capability for severe weather and alleviate damages of weather-related disasters on the national economy.
China's Internet Remote Higher Education
It is reported that having kicked off its Internet education efforts a couple of years ago, People’s University of China has established a shareholding company for professional distance education services. This year has witnessed its offer for distance higher education programs covering 5 majors including accounting, marketing, business administration and trade and economics. In addition, it offers 50 distance courses relating to adult higher education and other training courses for achieving professional titles or ranks. Anyone may take any courses it offers through the network and take the examinations organized by the University. Those who have passed the exams will be granted with graduation certificate for selected disciplines by the University.
It is also reported that in addition to People’s University, there are other renowned higher learning institutions such as Tsinghua University, Beijing Post and Telecommunication University, Zhejiang University and Hunan University which have been authorized by Chinese Ministry of Education to run distance education programs. So far there are several million people in the country taking their non-degree distance learning courses and about 2000 people having degree oriented distance courses through the network.
International Conference on Traditional Medicine (Beijing 2000)
International Conference on Traditional Medicine (Beijing 2000
)co-sponsored by China State Traditional Medicine Administration and World Health Organization will be held on April 22-24 in Beijing. The theme for the Conference is “Development and Applications of Traditional Medicines in the 21st Century”. Li Lanqing, Chinese Vice Premier, Peng Peiyun, Vice Chairman of Standing Committee of National People’s Congress, and Qian Zhengying, Vice Chairman of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference are designated honorable chairpersons of the Conference.
The Chinese Government has paid great attention to the preparation for the Conference. It has invited Ministry of Health, Ministry of Science and Technology, State Drug Supervision Administration and Chinese Science and Technology Association to be co-sponsors and designated Zhang Wenkang, Minister of Health, Conference Chairman, and Zhu Qingsheng, Vice Minister of Health and Administrator of State Traditional Medicine Administration, Chairman of Organizing Committee.
At present, in the country there are over 2600 institutions with a total staff of more than one million engaged in Chinese traditional medicine industry. The annual statistics on seeing Chinese traditional medical doctors and hospitalized for Chinese traditional medical therapies are 1 billion and 16 million respectively.
Recent years have witnessed WHO’s enhanced efforts in the development of traditional medicines through the establishment of 26 collaborative centers of traditional medicine in the world, of which 7 are located in China. Thanks to the vigorous promotion of World Health Organization, the traditional medical treatment, research and applications have reached a new level in many countries with more and more exchanges and collaborations between each other. As shown by the statistics, Chinese traditional acupuncture has found extensive applications in over 120 countries or regions in the world.
As briefed by Li Zhenjie, Vice Chairman of the Organizing Committee and Deputy Administrator of State Traditional Medicine Administration, the Conference will be held at Beijing International Conference Center with agendas for government forum, academic exchanges on traditional medical sciences and exhibitions. Up to date, there are 500 and more scholars from about 30 foreign countries and regions and nearly a thousand Chinese scholars who have registered for the conference with 1500 papers submitted.
Four Major Natural Gas Fields in West China
Along with the birth of Talimu Gas field in Xinjiang, a gas field network composed of large national gas fields in Talimu, Chaidamu, Shanganning and Chuanyu has taken shape. The distribution pattern has created preconditions for the construction of gas delivery pipelines running from Xinjiang to Shanghai (4200 km).
It is reported that a group of gas rich areas with great market perspectives have been found in Talimu basin. By the end of last year, 5 large and medium gas fields have been verified with a total gas geological reserve of 419 billion cubic meters. Since major breakthroughs achieved in 1990, Shanganning gas fields have been verified for a gas geological reserve of 334 billion cubic meters and started to pump out its established 2.2 billion annual gas production capacity. Now it has begun to deliver natural gas to Beijing. Chuanyu gas fields have witnessed continuous discoveries of new gas hills with a cumulative reserve verified at 579.5 billion cubic meters. At the same time, Chaidamu has recorded a verified reserve of 147.2 billion cubic meters.
At present, the reserve verification process is in progress pursuant to the master plan. As suggested by geological experts, along with the construction of national pipeline delivering the gas from the west to the east, the west region will pay more attention to finding more large gas fields. It is expected that around 2005 the total natural gas reserve verified in the area may reach 3450 billion cubic meters.
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