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No.307

 
 
 


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


N0.307 September 20,2002
 
IN THIS ISSUE

* Foreign Businesses Offered with Foreign Trade Right

* Further Opening China’s Legal Services

* R&D Projects Properly Supervised

* China-Germany Software Lab

* Japanese Scientist Won Chinese Award 

* The First China Home-Made Nanometer Screen

* The Smallest Bacteria Killing Device

 
 SPECIAL ISSUES

Foreign Businesses Offered with Foreign Trade Right 

Sun Peng, Deputy Director, Dept. of Foreign Capital, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation expressed at the 6th China Investment and Trade Fair opened on September 9, 2002 that China would keep its promise to grant all foreign businesses in China with foreign trade right in a timeframe of three years after its accession to WTO.

At present MOFTEC is working on further opening issues in the field of foreign trade and China will according to its promise duly loosen the conditions for approving foreign invested foreign trade firms in the country, open up all geophysical locations and abolish quantitative limit previously imposed. In the meantime, China will rename the title of its previous Interim Methods on Establishing Experimental Joint Foreign Trade Firm between Chinese and Foreign Parties to Interim Methods on Establishing Joint Foreign Trade Firm between Chinese and Foreign Parties. In addition, foreign invested foreign trade firms approved by the state according to the law will be granted with right to its domestic distributions. Up to date, the renamed Interim Methods has been submitted to the Chinese State Council for approval. Authorities concerned are working on relevant policies to further promote the opening in the field of foreign trade. To further expand the export procurement scale of multinationals in China, MOFTEC is under the unified plan of the State Council working on relevant policies allowing foreign businesses to establish their own independent export procurement centers and allowing foreign invested businesses to have more import and export rights.

To attract more foreign investors to make their investment in China, the Chinese Government at the right beginning of its opening has entitled foreign invested businesses with a series of privileges such as the right for exporting their self-made products and importing equipment, facilities and raw materials for their own use. In addition, foreign invested businesses such as the foreign trade firm, the foreign investment firm, the foreign invested manufacturing businesses with an annual export volume of USD 10 million and above, the foreign invested businesses in duty free zones, the foreign invested experimental commercial businesses and R&D centers, are allowed to engage in import and export businesses and partial foreign trade businesses upon the approval.

 Further Opening China’s Legal Services

Zhang Fusen, Chinese Minister of Justice expressed on September 18 2002 that China would continue to push for further opening of its legal services to meet the increasing needs of economic globalization and the nation’s modernization construction. This means China will take full advantage of the legal resources both at home and abroad and step up turning out a high quality Chinese attorney contingent.

Zhang added that China would take all it can to improve the professionalism of Chinese attorneys while encouraging them into newly emerged technological and economic fields so as to provide their high quality legal service for economic, trade and technical cooperation between China and other countries. China has in line with its promise to WTO enacted the Regulations on Management of Representative Offices of Foreign Law Firms in China and other related by-laws, improving market accession conditions and service environment for foreign law firms to establish their branches in China. It is briefed that since 1992, China has opened up its legal service industry and up to date there are a hundred and more foreign law firms who have been approved to engage in foreign law related services in China. In addition, several dozens of Hong Kong based law firms have opened their businesses over the mainland handling Hong Kong and overseas law related legal services. Of the 50 world top legal firms, there are over a half who have set up their branches in China.  These representative offices have been working on foreign law related legal assignments within the scope defined by the Chinese authorities with their legal businesses covering foreign trade and technical cooperation in 20 and odd countries or regions.

 R&D Projects Properly Supervised

Recently the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) entrusted a professional management firm to exercise full range supervision of its R&D projects.

It is reported that being the first R&D project contracted to external supervision in the country, Electric Vehicle R&D Project, one of the 12 major dedicated R&D activities sponsored by MOST, was placed under the watch of professional management. The project has won a total budget of RMB 2.4 billion, of which RMB 880 million comes from the state treasury and the rest from the local government and the enterprises.

It is briefed that in the past R&D projects supported by the state investment were all placed under the direct supervision of governmental agencies, which more often than not resulted in weak quality control as government officials who managed the projects were either not professional enough or lack of enough time for such supervision. Along with the changes in governmental functions, China has gradually allowed the third party management firm to be part of its supervision efforts. Major dedicated R&D projects usually involve both huge investment and numerous contracted parties from different sectors. Besides there lie great differences in those sectors' management mechanism. In this context, it is necessary to invite experts and professional market evaluation firms to supervise whether the money is properly used and the project is following a sound technical line. It is briefed that the professional management firm will examine the progress and implementation status of its sub-projects once every year and it may propose to change the contracted implementers if the progress is proven undesirable.

It is reported that MOST will mobilize in line with the principle of external supervision more social resources to participate in the supervision of those major dedicated R&D projects.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
 

 Geological Line for Biological Extinction

Upon their preliminarily joint study and analysis of volcanic tuff collected over Jiaying County located at the lower and middle reaches of Heilongjiang River, the Chinese, U.S., German and Russian scientists confirmed that they have discovered the geological demarcation line dividing the biological extinction and coming back to life occurred 65 million years ago.

65 million years ago, 70% of the living creatures on the earth suddenly went extinct which ended up the dinosaur age that had lasted as long as 160 million years. After that biological lives came back to their thriving which formed the primitive shape of today's biosphere in which we are living. The geological mark telling the process sits between the Cretaceous Period and Tertiary Period, or K/T demarcation line in brief. Before this, no discovery of K/T line was made in Asia.

 China-Germany Software Lab

On September 15, 2002, the Institute of Computation Technology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and German ISST jointly announced the establishment of China-Germany Joint Lab for Software Integration Technology and expressed that both sides would work together for extensive cooperation in the said field.

Han Yanbo, the chief research fellow of the joint lab briefed that the lab would mainly work on the medium technology related to information and software integration, and apply technologies for developing and deploying large coordinated information system and methodology for next generation software integration. The Lab is the first research entity jointly created by China and Germany in the field. Up to date, some of its research topics have been listed as major research projects under the German Ministry of Science and Education and won great support from the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

It is reported that the Lab is planning to work together with industrial sectors on research topics of their mutual interest and large projects so as to stimulate the development of software integration, especially in the fields of dynamic software integration and associated standards, striving for breakthrough progress in addressing actual needs and laying a solid technical foundation for the sustainable development of software industries in both countries. In the meantime, the Lab will play the bridging role in technology transfer, consultation, academic exchanges and personnel training. 

 Japanese Scientist Won Chinese Award 

On the morning of September 19, 2002, Prof. Kuroda Yoshimasu was conferred with 2001 China International Science and Technology Cooperation Award at the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo.

Being an internationally renowned lithologist and geochemist, Prof. Kuroda Yoshimasu has made numerous eye-catching achievements in the fields of lithology and mineralogy. Being an old friend of China and with his great love to the country, Mr. Kuroda Yoshimasu has since 1990 devoted himself to the establishment of the intergovernmental technical cooperation project “Chinese Mineral Resources Investigation and Research Center” between China and Japan and rendered outstanding contribution to raising China's level in mineral resources investigation and research. In addition, he has worked very hard for China's accession to IUGS and winning China's sponsorship of its 30th Congress in China.

Created in 1994, China International Science and Technology Cooperation Award has up to date honored 26 winners from 12 countries. Mr. Kuroda Yoshimasu is the third Japanese scientist who was conferred with the honor.

 China Became Part of AMS

On September 18, 2002, Prof. Xie Shengwu, President of Shanghai Jiaotong University inked a cooperation agreement with Dr. Ding Zhaozhong, a Noble Prize winner in Shanghai, which marked the formal participation of Shanghai Jiaotong University in the international cooperative studies of AMS, a large international space station based project. Jiaotong University will establish a special team made up of experts in the fields of physics, aeronautics and space technologies, automation, information technology, instruments, machinery manufacturing, measuring and control and materials. The team will work together with the corresponding institute based in Switzerland to develop the super magnetic control system for AMS and other control mechanism for AMS’ sounding systems aboard the space station.

Tsinghua's International Incubator

Recently the International Incubator announced its formal establishment at Tsinghua High Tech Park. Being a major step making the Park an international home for high tech businesses, the Park will provide incubation services for Japanese enterprises and the first group of Japanese businesses are expected at the end of this year.

To promote the development of its international incubators, the Park has made an area of 1,000 m2 available from its Innovation Building for providing integrated services necessary for Japanese businesses entering Chinese market such as consultation, human resources, collaborative partners, banking and legality. Tsinghua Park not only has created the position for Japanese project but will also open its representative office in Japan responsible for the applications of Japanese businesses and providing relevant service. The Park is planning to open its incubators for the businesses in European countries, the U.S., Korea and other countries in the following years. According to its development blueprint, by 2005 the Park will have 1,500 enterprises, 100 research institutions and 10 incubators stationed over its domain.

NEWS BRIEF
 

The First China Home-Made Nanometer Screen

Thanks to their two-year efforts, the researchers of Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry under the Chinese Academy of Sciences have successfully developed the first display screen made of nanometer rare earth in the country.

Before this China's projector TV screens were mainly imported from other countries with an average cost of RMB 2000 a piece. Now the home-made nanometer rare earth screen of similar specification only costs RMB 1000. The commercial production of such screens will greatly reduce manufacturing cost and create more development perspectives for China's color TV industry.

 The Smallest Bacteria Killing Device

Chinese Academy of Nuclear Energy announced on September 5, 2002 that applied with accelerator and electronic radiation technologies, it has worked out an electric accelerator capable of killing bacteria possibly concealed in the mails such as anthrax, cholera, smallpox and pestilence.

It is reported that capable of handling ten thousand mails a day and with a weight of 5.5 tons, the device will soon be installed at a domestic mail processing center.  Experts express that the device is not only the first of its kind in China but also the lightest and smallest self-shield accelerator device in the world which needs a space of only 40m2. As the device is able to shield itself, operator may easily work on it in a regular structure without worrying about its radiation.

 China’s Rice Genome Sequencing

Dr. Han Bin, Director of National Genetic Research Center under the Chinese Academy of Sciences disclosed at the International Rice Conference that China has completed the accurate sequencing of 4th rice chromosome, part of the international rice genome sequencing project. Chinese scientists have discovered 4,658 genes over this chromosome with its accuracy reaching 99.99%.

Dr. Han briefed that rice has 12 chromosomes. Sequencing of rice chromosomes may help scientists to accurately understand its genetic structures and provide molecular genetic basis for improving rice and other crops.

 Projects and Talents for the West Region

To help returned overseas Chinese to establish their own businesses in China, promote the conversion of high tech findings and let more talented people and projects flow into the west region, the Chinese Academy of Sciences will sponsor in the early November 2002 an international workshop on the development and utilization of Chinese human resources and arrange theme oriented exchanges and talks so as to create a practical approach to addressing the flow-in of talented people as well as technology into the west region.

It is briefed that the Workshop will invite a hundred scientists from different research institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Agriculture to present their respective findings before a hundred city or county leaders. Meanwhile, high caliber personnel from renowned domestic universities and Chinese graduates returning from abroad will also become a major part of the Workshop.

 Rare Peach Jellyfish

Recently people have spotted the peach jellyfish, a rare biological species over the water surface of Dinosaur Island of Zhelin Lake, Jiangxi Province. As is verified and confirmed by Hangzhou Institute of Biology, the peach jellyfish is a very ancient living creature, belonging to jellyfish coelenterate, or a small community under polypite class of cnidophore phylum. Unlike the ordinary jellyfish, the peach jellyfish lives in fresh water, which makes it an extremely rare species. It is briefed that the peach jellyfish has a living history of 1.5 billion years and is as precious as the panda. Before this, peach jellyfish was only seen at Zigui of the Three Gorges area.


       Comments or inquiries on editorial matters or Newsletter content should be directed to:Mr. Cheng Jiayi, Department of International Cooperation, MOST 15B, Fuxing Road Beijing 100862, PR China  Tel: (8610)68512650 Fax: (8610) 68512594

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