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No.195

　

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


N0.195 August 10,1999
　
IN THIS ISSUE
  • The First National Guide on High Tech Industrialization Priorities
  • Chinese Y2K Committee Established
  • High-Level S&T Cooperation between China and West
  • Sino-US Collaboration on Antigen Free Technology Applications
  • China's Railway Survey of the World Advanced Level
  • China's Plant Seeds Reserves Becomes No.1 in the World
  • China Public Understanding of Science Network

    SPECIAL    ISSUES

The First National Guide on High Tech
Industrialization Priorities

      Guide on High Tech Industrialization Priorities for the Current Development, a guidance document encouraging and promoting healthy development of high tech industrialization, was formally published on July 14, 1999. 138 fields were selected as the priorities for the high tech development in the next couple of years in China. The Guide is designed to be updated every year.

      It is reported that the Guide jointly compiled by State Development and Planning Commission and Ministry of Science and Technology has covered ten major industries including agriculture, information, environmental protection and integrated utilization of resources, medicine, energy, transport, materials, machinery building, construction and light industry.

      Authorities of State Development and Planning Commission said that as shown by preliminary statistics the total added value of high tech industry accounted less than 2% of China's GDP. China is still in the preliminary development stage far behind developed countries no matter in terms of quantity and scale, technological level or international competitiveness. However, high tech industries have become a key factor determining the strength of a nation's sustainable development and defense competitiveness. In this context, the Chinese Government has firmly decided to enhance its investment in high tech priorities and encourage and promote the development of high tech industries through formulating relevant policies. The purpose of the Guide is to explicitly line out the priority fields and directions to be supported and encouraged and orient investment from different social sources into high tech industries so as to improve the utilization of limited resources and nurture new major economic growth points.

      It is briefed that the sponsors of high tech industries in line with the Guide may apply for tax exemption for their imported equipment through local government or relevant governmental agencies. To some projects in need of governmental support, the state will determine the corporate entity of the project through bidding or competition and provide preferential financial treatment in different ways such as providing capital, discount loan, venture subsidy and development investment.
      　
      Authorities of State Development and Planning Commission have also stressed that the Guide is only a guiding document and government at different levels and governmental agencies concerned shall screen out their own priorities tailored to their practical cases.

      It is also reported that State Development and Planning Commission recently have defined 9 dedicated projects and a group of demonstration projects to be China's first group of high tech industries for priority development, which cover modern agriculture, information technology, new material, new energy and advanced manufacturing technologies. These projects are associated with mobile telecommunication system, digital high resolution TV, software, urban rail traffic system and advanced power generation facilities, environmental protection facilities, rare earth materials, agriculture fertilizers, biotechnology .
      　

      Chinese Y2K Committee Established

      Chinese Y2K Committee announced its establishment on July 12, 1999 in Beijing. The new committee is set up to organize the celebrations of the arrival of the new century in the country.

      Being a non-profitable organization, the committee is sponsored by National Astronomical Observatory Center and Astronomical Committee of Chinese Academy of Sciences and other relevant organizations and institutions that are interested in public welfare.

      In the upcoming new century, the human civilization is facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities for its further development. Year 2000 hallmarks the beginning of a new historical process. To celebrate the arrival of this great moment, organizations in different forms and scales sponsored either by government or non-governmental organizations have mushroomed over the world. The establishment of Chinese Y2K Committee will push China into a substantive stage of starting the process of celebrating the arrival of new century.

      Prof. Wang Shouguan, Chairman of the Committee and academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that calendar setting has long been of the astronomic field. Like other countries, National Astronomical Observatory Center and Astronomical Committee subordinated to Chinese Academy of Sciences, specialized bodies in the field of astronomy, are willing to play a leading role in the event and contribute to the celebrations in collaboration with all walks of life in the country.

      The main aim of the committee is to create more opportunities to attract the public attention to and involvement of all walks of life in welcoming the arrival of the new century. At the news briefing on the establishment of the committee, the organizers introduced the committee's major services as follows: provide government and relevant organizations with information on Y2K, organize and assist the organization of celebration activities sponsored by government or other organizations. Several dozens of activities have been defined such as “collecting A Song for Year 2000”, “Auction of Trans-century Saint Torch”. The committee will collaborate with other international organizations which are concerned with celebrating Year 2000, disseminating Chinese culture, increase people's attention to basic scientific knowledge, environmental protection and other public welfare and deepen man's knowledge of nature and agreeable social development.

      At present, activities celebrating Year 2000 have been boosted up all over the world. Being an ancient civilized country, China will celebrate the solemn event in the human civilization in its own way and the said committee will work hard to reach the said objectives.
       

    China’ s HPC Mobile Database


      On July 14, 1999, senior officials and experts from governmental agencies, enterprises and academic communities attended the seminar on domestic palm-sized mobile database at Chinese People's University. The seminar was co-sponsored by the expert panel on intelligent computer of National 863 Program, Chinese Computer Sciences Association, Chinese People's University and Legend Information Electronic Technology Company. The seminar discussed key issues confronted in developing Chinese made HPC, development direction of HPC mobile database, developing built-in software system, state policies on promoting HPC industries in the country and HPC applications and its future development trend.

      Integrated with the merits of computer, telecommunication and consumers electronic products, HPC is a kind of light mobile computer emerged in the early 1990s. It possesses integrated functions of entry, storage, management and transmission of data. It is a natural result derived from advanced development of computers with mini-size, multiple functions, multi-media, simplification and low-energy consumption.

      With the support of National 863 Program, some renowned domestic companies such as Legend, Hysense and Sangxia have developed their own HPC products. Unfortunately their products have still been unable to go into applications as the results of mere stress on the development of hardware without due considerations to associated software.

      In this context, the development of HPC based application platform is a key to reaching the set goals. At present, overseas database companies have announced that they would make the debut of their HPC based mobile database soon.

      Facing this rare market opportunity, Data and Knowledge Engineering Institute (Jincang Company) of Chinese People's University has developed “Smart” mobile database system on the basis of Legend HPC with its advanced technology accumulated for years and its own investment. This has laid a solid foundation for the applications of Chinese made HPC.

    INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

High-Level S&T Cooperation between China and West

      Senior officials of Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology has expressed on July 8, 1999, that China and European Union (EU) will start full-fledged joint research collaborations in the field of high technology, which hallmarks a brand new phase of S&T cooperation between China and Europe.

      It is reported that China and EU, in accordance with the S&T agreement signed between China and EU recently, will open their respective high tech research and development plans to the other side for the first time. EU has agreed to open its 5th (1998-2002) master plan for scientific research with a budget of USD 17 billion to China. China will organize its research people to be involved in a number of fields such as biology, energy, aviation, space, telecommunication and agriculture.

      In addition, China will promote its high-level S&T collaborations with other S&T powers on an all-round basis. China will enhance its research and development collaboration with US in the fields of medicine, telecommunication, new materials, microelectronics and agriculture and look forward to the collaborations in other major fields such as high-energy physics, space, astronomy and human genome. China will strengthen its high-level collaborations with Russia in some major fields such as space, aviation, nuclear energy and space stations.

      It is also reported that Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Natural Science Foundation have decided recently that they will make a joint investment of RMB 12 million in the construction of a number of high-energy physics research facilities in European Nucleon Center so as to send more of its scientists to work on major research projects there in the future.
      　

    Sino-US Collaboration on Antigen
    Free Technology Applications


      US based ABS announced on July 14, 1999 that it would transfer its AF technology to China for free and has signed an agreement with Institute of Experimental Animals, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, on joint applications of antigen free technology in transgenetic animal reproduction projects.

      With its 60 subordinated research institutions dotted over the world, it is briefed that ABS is mainly working on approaches for diagnosis of heart disease, epidemic diseases and disorders of nerve system. AF technology has found its practical applications since 1993 and produced single cloning antibody, which demonstrated bright perspectives for its commercial applications. The said cooperation is the first of its kind that ABS has shared with other foreign institutions. Institute of Experimental Animal, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, is the largest independent body studying experimental animals and is of an advanced level in producing transgenetic rats.

      Prof. Liu Yinong, the head of the Institute, believed that AF technology would find extensive potential and industrialization prospective in oncology, hematology, immunodeficiency, basic biomedical science and clinical applications. The combination of AF technology and transgenetic techniques will be good for further improvement of S&T content in its biological products.
      　
       

    NEWS BRIEFS

    China’ s Railway Survey of the World Advanced Level


      It is reported from No. 4 Institute of Railway Survey and Designing, Chinese Ministry of Railways, that China's four railway survey and designing institutes have all extensively taken advantages of global positioning system (GPS), remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) in realizing integrated process of survey and designing. The encouraging development has made China's railway survey and designing of the world advanced level.

      Regarded as “three-S” techniques, GPS, RS and GIS are the most advanced survey and measuring techniques integrated with comprehensive measuring, mapping and database management functions in the world. /// No. 4 Institute of Railway Survey and Designing has applied GPS technique in conducting survey and measurement for a number of important projects such as Changsha-Jingzhou rail line, Wenzhou-Fuzhou-Xiamen coastal rail line, Beijing-Shanghai express line, Jiaozuo-Shanxi superhighway and Beijing-Zhuhai superhighway. In addition, the Institute has also accomplished air born survey and measurement of 1200 km2 over ten cities including Loudi and Shangqiu with its accuracy ten times better than the normal one. No. 1 Institute of Survey and Designing applied GPS in the survey and measurement of Qinling Tunnel, the longest of its kind in the country, with an improved efficiency of 10 to 20 times and accuracy of 20 times.

      With the help of remote sensing techniques in survey and measurement of Beijing-Jiulong Railway, No. 4 Institute made the judgement and analysis of the properties of rock and stone, geological structure, hydraulic geology and water bodies on the way and provided objective data for line selecting and tunnel and bridge designing.
      　

    China's Plant Seeds Reserves Becomes No.1 in the World


      It is reported that thanks to its decade efforts the plant seeds collected by China's back-up plant seeds bank, which is regarded as “Seed Bank” and “Gene Bank”, have reached 310,000 in species, the first in the world.

      China's National Plant Seeds Back-up Bank is located at Qinghai Provincial Academy of Agriculture & Forestry. Ma Xiaogang, Deputy Chief of Institute of Plants of the Academy said China is of extremely rich plant species resources over its vast land under differed geographic and climate conditions. Collecting plants of different genes is of importance to China's “gene project” and efforts in breeding new species. To prevent fine plant species from going extinct, China has established plant seeds bank at Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, collecting and storing different plant species and conducting associated studies. Meanwhile, to ensure the security of these valuable seeds, the state has established a back-up seed bank in Qinghai Province, a place enjoying cool climate. It has stored the seeds of wheat, rice, corn, and also grass, vegetables and wild plants, which are concerned with crops, collected from the 1950s.
      　

    China Public Understanding of Science Network


      “China Public Understanding of Science Network” sponsored by Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology was formally put into operation on July 1st, 1999. The Chinese Government has listed S&T popularization with the main aim of improving its people's scientific quality in the country as an important component in the implementation of its strategy of revitalizing the country with science and education. The new network is designed to publicize policies and regulations on extension of popular sciences and reflect associated activities carried out in the country in time.

      “China Public Understanding of Science Network” is mainly columned with Policies and Regulations, Popular Scientific Activities, S&T Frontiers, Popular Science Forum, Science and Life, S&T History, S&T Media, Scientific Figures, Popular Science Base and S&T Paradise for Teenagers. Its websites are http://www.kepu.gov.cn or http://www.cpus.gov.cn.


          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