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No.239

 
 
 


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



N0.239 October 30,2000
 
IN THIS ISSUE
    * Major Progresses in China's Innovation Projects 
    * China Encourages Foreign Investment in Mining Industry
    * China's Future Orientation for Space Science Studies
    * World First Rare Earth Valley in China
    * High Energy Electronic Heat Pump
    * China's Major Progress in Climate Disaster Studies
    * Bright Perspectives for "909 Project"
    * China's First High Resolution Video Decoding Chip

 
SPECIAL    ISSUES
Major Progresses in China's Innovation Projects

It is reported that knowledge based innovation projects implemented in the 9th Five-Year Plan period have landed major progress, rendering positive contributions to the fast development of science and technology and national economy. For example, China has for the first time in the world created the physical charts of paddy rice genome of high resolution. The geometric calculation of Hamilton system invented by Prof. Feng Kang was granted the only first prize of National Natural Science Award in 1997. Multiple channel scanning radiometer has found success ful application in Fengyun II meteorological satellite. Industrial robots have been developed to upgrade the automobile and motor cycle assembly lines. 0.8uG line step projecting photoetching devices and 0.7UI line exposure devices have been
successfully developed, which improved China's technologies manufacturing electronic equipment at submicron level. Manometer carbon tube matrix of super length and directional growth has heralded the success. Major breakthroughs have been achieved in synthesizing and studies of new nucleins. Beijing positron-electron collider provided 1548-hour stable current for Beijing spectrometer. The spatial resolution of soft X-ray holograph reached submicron level. Human genome studies have achieved many important progresses through cloning some important genes triggering genetic diseases and applications of CDNA displaying chips in the laboratories obtained satisfactory results both at home and abroad. The compilation and publication of China Flora will soon be completed. PRC National Nature Atlas has been published. Studies on the hydrogen storing of single walled nanometer carbon tube applauded for remarkable findings, which opened wide perspectives for clean energy applications and attracted the world attention.

Series elementsupporting technologies relating to high power laser has witnessed major progress, which will help to address the energy issue that has long troubled mankind.The first 5-8.2 micron wave semi-conduct consecutive laser devices at quantum level have been developed. Studies on the integrated technologies for sustainable high cotton yield demonstration has made major progress. Studies on the genetic engineering of rice Xa21 anti bacterial leaf blight are ridden with major fruits, which has for the first time introduced cloned Xa21 genes into hybrid rice grown over extensive areas in productive activities. Studies on cell chromosome engineering seeds breeding technology have landed the world leading position with which fine wheat species such as Xiaoyan No. 54 of fine quality, high yield and disease resistance have been bred out. Dawning 2000-II super server is able to perform a calculation at 110 billion times per second. Mini satellite for store-relay telecommunication has seen the birth of its circulating prototype with its multi-stage ones in production. The successful development of the application system and all effective loading aboard Practice No. 5, a scientific experimental satellite launched on May 10, 1999 and the development of ten-channel scanning radiometer and infrared horizon instrument for attitude measuring and control of Fengyun I C have made the effective loading of two satellites work properly.

Breakthroughs have also been achieved in many other fields such as superconductivity, nanometer materials and material environmental behavior and its failure mechanism. A socalled nationwide farming condition quick reporting and crop yield estimation system has been created for a variety of crops, which materialized the domestic growing area calculation and aggregate yield prediction for seven major crops in 1999.

China Encourages Foreign Investment in Mining Industry

To introduce more foreign investment into China's mining industry, especially the one located in its western section, China is now working on series of favorable policies encouraging such investment These policies will:

* Allow overseas non-legal person enterprise to gain the rights of mine prospecting according to relevant laws and legalize the rights of overseas non-legal-person enterprises in submitting their applications for mine prospecting right and geological prospecting entity status to the Ministry of National Land Resources. This will change the previous regulations tipulating that when investing in China's mining industry, the overseas investors have to find Chinese partners who are of the rights for mine prospecting and mining and thus ensure the fundamental interests of investors.

* Improve the climate for foreign investment in mining industry and simplify the investment application procedures. The Ministry of National Land Resources has started from last November the experiment on improving the foreign investment climate for mining industry in Yun'nan Province. The registration and approval of foreign investment in prospecting and mining over the territories of Yunnan Province can be granted in the locality without bothering going through the approval of Ministry of National Land Resources as requested previously (special mines such as oil,gas and radioactive ores are not under the favor of the said policies).

* Offer discount fees for using prospecting and mining rights. To attract investment in prospecting and developing of mining resources in the west section as well as distant poor areas, the Ministry of National Land Resources drafting according to relevant regulations "Methods on Discounting Fees for Using of Prospecting and Mining Rights". The investors qualified for the agreed conditions will be allowed to enjoy discount fees for using prospecting or mining rights to different extend.

* The foreign businessmen investing in prospecting or developing mineral resources may enjoy tax holidays regulated by the state for foreign invested businesses. The integrated utilization of mineral resources financed by foreign investment or enjoying technical cooperation with large or medium domestic mining enterprises may also enjoy some favored policies. For example, the foreign investors who pour their money in prospecting or mining in the west section may be allowed for one year exemption and two-year 50% discount of using prospecting or mining rights.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
China's Future Orientation for Space Science Studies

It is disclosed that China has finalized its orientation for future space studies.

In the area of microgravity, it is planned to complete the development of space based common fluid experimental device in 2000 and continue the implementation of air-balloon solar telescope plan with the application of 80cm solar magneticfield telescope for observation and studies of the fine structures of the solar magnetic field. In addition, it is planned to develop an air balloon dropping cabinof quality microgravity level for scientific studies in the field.

Referring to space materials, China will, through international cooperation in the field, cultivate and study space based animal and plant cells and their organs. By taking advantage of the instant microgravity experiment of weightless aircraft, the relationship between current field of tiselius cell and changing gravity field recorded by space based continuous free current electrophoresis apparatus will be studied. The development of and associated scientific research on manned space life experimental device will also be carried out.

In the field of space probing, the studies on the effects of outer space single particles and the associated protection will be continued.

China will also start the studies of the impacts of earth and space based plasma environmental variations on solar activities, inter-planet oscillation, borderdy namic process of top magnetic layer, magnetospheric substorm and storm response, and establish relevant variation models.

In the field of astronomy, the development of large caliber solar telescope will be continued so as to study the solar physical and terrestrial environment.
 
As for ground observations, new generation Fengyun III meteorological satellite will be developed and launched to improve the level of satellite based weather forecasting. New instruments such as atmospheric profile sounding instrument, microwave remote sensing device, earth radiometer and ozone monitoring device will be added aboard the satellite so as to enhance the ground observation capacity.

World First Rare Earth Valley in China

The first rare earth valley in the world will be created at Baotou Rare Earth High Tech Industrial Park. The ten-year plan for the Park was basically completed in last September followed by a revised new version worked out later. It will as planned take a decade to turn the Park into a world center for rare earth information, scientific research, technical development, manufacturing and processing and trading.

This year has witnessed the accelerated construction activities in the Park. The Functional Materials Research Center subordinated to Baotou Rare Earth Institute, the largest of its kind in the country has moved into the Park. The Park is also in the process of inviting the Rare Earth Institute under Chinese Academy of Sciences to settle down in the valley. The Park has signed cooperative agreements with Chinese Academy of Engineering, Tsinghua University, Chinese Agriculture University and Inner Mongolia University and contracted two projects to be incubated at the pioneering center. This year has enjoyed the establishment of a variety of entities such as rare earth incubator, Baotou software garden, incubation funds, pioneering funds, loan guarantee funds and venture capital funds. An in
dustrial park integrating the separation of rare earth elements, processing, property changing, comprehensive applications and production is looming up.

It is reported that the university park and S&T park in the Baotou area have been merged into the Valley. The Valley is constructing online rare earth network and planning to establish a department of rare earth or rare earth institute in collaboration with Baotou Academy of Iron and Steel.

High Energy Electronic Heat Pump

High Energy Electronic Heat and Hot Water Pump, a high tech result jointly developed by Hunan Chenzhou Chenguang High Tech Co., Hunan University and National Defense University of Science and Technology has recently passed the experts' evaluation and approval in Hunan. As shown by the tracking report over the world wide retrieving system, the result has made itself the first of its kind in the world. The development has shown that China has positioned the internationally advanced level in the studies of high energy electronic cooling and heating technologies.

It is reported that high energy electronic cooling and heating technologies realize its cooling or heating through the movement of energy carrying electrons manipulated by high energy cooling and heating chips rather than through mechanical movement or cooling or heating medium. The result creates two application perspectives: its applications in the fields of national defense, bioengineering, metallurgy, chemicals and pharmaceutical will lead to a revolutionary change in the cooling or heating approaches used in these fields and greatly improve the cooling/heating efficiency and safety. The result can be directly utilized for civil purpose since the prototype of high energy electronic heat pump applied with the said technologies has passed the approval. The new heat pump is of extremely high safety feature and fast heating property with a thermal efficiency as high as 200% (the most advanced water heating machine in the world has registered athermal efficiency under 100%) and without pollution.

Pre-study for New Nuclear Energy

With the support of Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, Chinese scientists are working on the pre-studies of accelerator-driven clean nuclear energy system, a new generation nuclear energy system, so as to maintain and improve China's comprehensive strength on nuclear technology and make China keep abreast with their international counterparts in nuclear energy utilization. Scientists gat hered from Chinese Academy of Atomic Energy and the Institute of Nuclear Energy under Chinese Academy of Sciences have not long ago formally kicked off the pre-study of this basic research project of national priority.

Ding Dazhao, academician and chief scientist of the project said that China has since 1995 made conceptual studies of such an advanced nuclear energy system. At present, the studies are in physical concept phase. In the next phase, scientists will work on physical and technical studies, following the general policy of constructing facilities and improving the general level in the process of studies.

In a concrete term, in the first five years, scientists will assess, through their careful analysis, the feasibility of the system becoming a new approach leading to large scale fusion and work out the technical lines and the plan for "principle testing"; in the next five years, experimental research will be carried out to lay a foundation for the future development of the system.

China's Major Progress in Climate Disaster Studies

Studies on the Generation and Prediction of China's Major Climate and Weather Disasters, a major national basic study project has applauded for important progress. The project includes the studies of climate dynamics, ENSO circulation dynamics and its prediction, monsoon variations and severe droughts prediction, land surface process of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the impacts of climate disasters and new generation climate system model and predictions for severeclimate disasters. It is reported that the project has been listed by Ministry of Science and Technology in the first group of projects implemented under the National Plan on Basic Research and Development.

The Project has since its start in April 1999 completed the preparations for two extensive field observations: the Experiment on Land-Air Interactions in Arid Areas of Northwest China and the Experiment on West Pacific Warm Sink Monitoring. In addition, they have established severe climate information database and climate change related marine observations database. Scientists have proposed on the basis of their analysis the concept on East Asian climate system, the theory on monsoon-warm sink-ENSO circulation interactions and the theory on atmospherict hermal adaptation. In the meanwhile, they have upgraded the existing climate models and worked out the framework for an 18- level new numerical atmospheric circulation model. At present, the project is establishing observation stations in arid areas in northwest China such as Dunhuang, Linze and Wudaoliang so as to study the land-air interactions over these areas.

Bright Perspectives for "909 Project"

The socalled "909 Project", China's largest strategic project in the field of electronic industry with a planned budget totaled USD 1.2 billion has reached its planned construction goals as the result of three-year painstaking efforts. The revenues from the project are expected to reach Rmb 3 billion with a profit of Rmb 500 million. Shanghai Huahong (Group) Co. Ltd., the implementing agency of the project has progressed from the construction phase into the harvesting one.

In collaboration with Japan based NEC and applied with internationally advanced technologies and techniques, Huahong completed the construction of its chip assembly lines in February 1999 and produced the chips of 0.35-0.24 microns upgraded from originally planned 0.5 micron. Their SDRAM products ranging from 64 Mb to 128 Mb have reached the existing international mainstream level and heralded their way into the international market.

So far a group of Huahong brand name products of independent intellectual property rights have made their debut in the market. They are non-contact saving cardchip, contact CPU card chip, contact POS chip, electronic power meter chip, LED display control circuits and mobile phone cell control circuits. Huahong has developed comprehensive capacity for IC card chip designing, modules processing, machine tool manufacturing, application software and system integration and made its full fledged way into the domestic market.

China's First High Resolution Video Decoding Chip

China's first high resolution video decoding chip of independent intellectual property right has not long ago heralded for its success at Shanghai Jiaotong University. It is reported that the application of this China chip may increase the resolution to 8 and even 18 times against the conventional TV with its horizontal resolution reaching 1000 lines and above, capable of obtaining unique visual and audio effects. It is briefed that the result has passed the digital flow testing of US based SARNOFF with its performance reaching internationally advanced level, a meaningful event for breaking up international monopoly.



       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. 2580

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