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INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION |
Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation
At an informal meeting on space cooperation activities within the UN system held on January 23, 2003 in Geneva, Chinese Representative Mr. FU Zhigang stated that China would spare no efforts to promote space cooperation activities in the Asia-Pacific region. China will do more for space technology and application related training by taking advantage of its resources in space technology and associated education.
To promote the Asia-Pacific cooperation in the field of space technology and applications, the China National Space Administration has trained more than 80 personnel from 30 countries in the region. The establishment of the training system has stimulated the multilateral cooperation process in the region and is of importance to launching substantive cooperation projects in the future.
Being a major sponsoring state for the Asia-Pacific multilateral cooperation in the field of space technology and applications, China has long paid great attention to the regional space cooperation and strived to establish the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization and implement related projects. Mr. FU added that being the host for the future Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization, China is now working hard to establish the Asia-Pacific Space S&T and Training Center. China has long been an active part of the UN space technology and application activities, supporting the work of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) and the implementation of associated application programs. The China National Space Administration wishes to further its cooperation with the UN and establish the Asia-Pacific Space S&T and Training Center under the UN banner in Beijing.
International Evaluation for CAS Institutes
It is reported that the Chinese Academy of Sciences will kick off in the new year series international evaluation of its subordinated institutes in the fields of basic study, life science and environment and resources. The evaluation will, based on the data collected and the results of integrated quality appraisal, work on the future orientations of the institutes under the guidance of the knowledge based innovation strategy.
CAS is planning to establish a scientific system to evaluate the institutes under its banner so as to create the environment favorable for turning out more talented people. In the meanwhile, CAS will explore the new approaches to distribute its resources, establishing new S&T innovation platforms or bases, deploying innovation projects in a more scientific manner and accelerating the socialization of the industrial businesses subordinated to CAS and its institutes. It is reported that CAS will apply the annual salary system to the head of institutes when appropriate. The evaluation mechanism will make a possible exception for the institutes engaged in basic research, allowing them to have an evaluation interval longer than one year.
As a matter of fact, the Institute of Mathematics and System Science and the Institute of Physics under CAS have already introduced the international evaluation in recent years and achieved fine results. The authorities of the Chinese Academy of Life Science under CAS has recently disclosed that the Institute will invite internationally renowned experts to work on the international evaluation of its five subordinated institutes from April 2004. The evaluation will mainly cover the level of research projects, quantity and quality of scientific papers, logistic supply and the composition of research personnel.
World Largest Vaccine House in Shanghai
The Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Pasteur Institute in France jointly announced on January 29, 2004 that the Pasteur will soon make Shanghai the home for the joint research center to study the viruses that have gone rampant in Asia. Mr. CHEN Zhu, Vice President of CAS stated at the news briefing that the Pasteur is the first European research body who sent its expert team to China during the SARS epidemic outbreak took place last year. Now that many Asian countries are being attacked by the bird flue viruses, the CAS and Pasteur have began their joint study in the field and decided to jointly establish a research center in Shanghai. The development will not only strengthen the cooperation between the two parties in the fields, but will also help China improve its preparedness for the attacks of viruses through introducing advanced technologies and management skills.
Mr. Chen added that from the successful development of rabies vaccine to the separation of AIDS viruses, the Pasteur has proved its strength in the domain. The joint establishment of the China-Pasteur Institute also demonstrates the international acknowledgement of China’s research capacity in the field. Mr. Philippe Kourilsky, the Head of the Pasteur Institute told reporters that the new institute would eventually make its staff population up to 250 people, of whom a dozen French experts will head the study of selected topics on a long term basis. He also added that China is a vast country with a large population, and is therefore a desirable virus source for study. The Pasteur is willing to contribute its due to improving the health level of the Chinese people and promoting the industrialization of China’s research findings.
China’s Overseas Volunteer Project
As provided by the summary report of the 5th session of the Joint Committee Meeting on the Cooperation between China and Vietnam in the Field of Science and Technology, both Chinese and Vietnamese sides will support the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology to launch the Chinese S&T Volunteers Project in Vietnam. Aiming at diffusing the practical technologies and products derived from China’s Sparkle Program in ASEAN countries, the volunteer project will mainly address the technical difficulties encountered in the actual production activities through in-situ investigation, technical training and technical diagnosis. In the meanwhile, Chinese volunteers will make the Vietnamese S&T personnel know more about Chinese S&T developments by introducing China’s S&T policies and relevant S&T programs. The efforts will lay a foundation for the further S&T cooperation between two countries.
After the official start of the program, the Chinese side has reviewed the proposal on three volunteer projects submitted by the Vietnamese side and will soon feedback the Vietnamese side with the implementation plan for further discussion. It is disclosed that the first Chinese volunteers’ mission to Vietnam will be made within the year.
New Generation Mobile System Succeed
The proprietary CMT compound mobile telecommunication system jointly developed by the Huangyu Mobile S&T Co. Ltd. and the National Engineering Center for Digital Exchange System passed its technical verification check in the mid-January 2004. Being the first IP based CDMA 2000 mobile telecommunication technology realized in the country, the new system has enjoyed major innovations with its overall performance reaching the internationally advanced level. The new system has greatly enhanced the flexibility and availability of the system resources with numerous improvements such as better resources efficiency and lower operational costs.
Applied with all soft techniques for exchange, bus, definition and accessing, the new system has found the effective solution to the input interfacing, a core technology needed by the network to support the input of different radio systems. The new system has been designed with a hardware able to accommodate common applications, easy for expansion and cost control and capable to meet the different needs of operators. It has also introduced numerous unique hardware and software techniques. For example, the sealing solution for the multiple voice data package has improved the transmission efficiency; the embedded IP protocol stacker enhances the peak output of peripheral equipment to IP package; and the compound buffer technique has reduced the delayed jittering of IP package.
More Knowledge of SARS Viruses
Under the leadership and support of the National Steering Panel on SARS Prevention and Control, and thanks to their concerted painstaking efforts for 8 months, the study team, made up of more than 60 researchers from 15 research institutes in Guangdong, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Chicago and other places, recently announced the major progresses achieved on the basic study of SARS prevention and control. The new findings on the SARS virus evolution were published in the January 29, 2004 issue of Science journal.Scientists have epidemiologically divided the SARS epidemics occurred during the period of 2002-2003 into three stages for its molecular evolution. They also defined the genetic molecular markers for each stage. The findings have shown that the SARS viruses are weak in disease making and transmission at the early transmitting stage. The control and treatment of the epidemic is therefore comparatively easier at this stage. The viruses, however, would accelerate the mutation as the result of competing for survival. After a period of adaptation, the mutation would slow down but with an apparently enhanced transmission capacity. In the late stage of the epidemic, the genome of viruses tend to become stable.
The findings also confirmed the scenario that the SARS viruses originate from animals. Scientists believed that the SARS viruses are transmitted to human beings via animals and become mutated there before becoming a disease transmitted among human beings. Scientists also found that the average speed of the SARS genome mutation is only one third that of the AIDS viruses. The relatively small and slow mutations of the SARS genome could make more time available for scientists to develop vaccines.
China’s First DNA Computer
Shanghai Jiaotong University announced not long ago that its Bio-X Life Research Center and the Institute of Nutrition Science at the Shanghai Academy of Life Sciences under the Chinese Academy of Sciences have successfully turned out the prototype of ‘DNA computer’ in the testing tube. The experiment married the automatic machine with surface DNA calculation, which made the birth to China’s first ‘DNA computer’ in Shanghai. Developed on the basis of the DNA computer made by Israeli scientists, China’s DNA computer has accomplished a number of improvements such as dual florescent markers’ testing of coming and going molecules, sequencer based real-time monitoring of automatic operation, and magnetic bead surface reaction based control enhancement. All these improvements have made the DNA computer able to process 0 and 1 signals like the conventional computer does. The development has laid a ground for substantively upgrading the computation functions of electronic computers through chip technology in the future.
China Deployed More ARGOs
The No. 2 Marine Research Institute under the State Oceanic Administration announced on January 9 and 10, 2004 that China has successfully deployed two more ARGO drifting buoys in the northwest Pacific Ocean, the fourth of its kind launched by China in the marine water. It is reported that two ARGO drifting buoys have been positioned at 23° 59.55’ N and 136° 59.97’E and 27° 0.53’N and 136° 59.83’E respectively. China will deploy one more ARGO drifting buoy in the same marine area in the near future.
The deployment was made at the request of the ARGO Drifting Buoy Observation Program for the Pacific-India Ocean Warm Sink. China became a formal member of the ARGO Global Marine Observation Program on October 2001. The Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology has created a project dedicated to China’s new generation ARGO marine observation experiment. The experiment will tap up rich data sources for the in-depth researches in the fields of the oceanic management, weather forecast and marine studies.
As requested by the ARGO Global Marine Observation Program, the member states shall deploy 3,000 automatic drifting buoys over the oceans on the earth. 2004 and 2005 will be the peak year witnessing such deployment. China is planning to deploy 100 to 150 ARGO drifting buoys in the Pacific and Indian Oceans in the next few years. Being part of the ARGO global marine observation network, China is entitled to sharing the data collected by the 3,000 drifting buoys over the world.
Most Venture Capital into High Tech Businesses
Chinese authorities of Science and Technology recently disclosed that China’s venture capital market has got boomed along with the rapid development of high tech businesses in the country. Statistics on venture capital investment shows that 85% of several billion RMB worth venture capital has flowed in high tech businesses. Under the continuing support of venture capital, the high tech industrial bases in the country have enjoyed a 25% growth for major indicators. On the basis of summing up China’s high tech development trends and demands for venture capital, the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology is now working together with other governmental agencies to address the issues relating to laws and regulations, system construction, operational mechanism and supporting policies. This allows a regulated and healthy venture capital investment for high tech businesses.
Mini Rocket to be Launched
China will launch in the next half of the year an experimental satellite into space by using a full solid-fuel carrier rocket named Pioneer I.
Newly designed for launching small and mini satellites under 100 kg, the series solid-fuel rockets will become a major supplement to China’s CZ (Long-March) large liquid-fuel rocket series. Powered on solid fuels, the new rockets will meet the flexible time and place demands for mobile launching. The Pioneer has so far completed the sub-system testing and matching experiments before the phase for whole rocket assemble. The rocket is scheduled to be off the assembly line on June and be launched in the next half of the year.
Easier Bladder Caner Diagnosis
The study team headed by Prof. SHEN Zhoujun at the Urology Section of No. 1 Hospital subordinated to the Medical School of Zhejiang University has recently discovered a special protein closely linked with bladder cancers. With the help of the special protein, researches are not only able to confirm if the patient has developed the bladder cancer simply by testing his or her urine specimen, but are also able to tell the development of the cancer, providing convincing evidences for designing right therapy solutions.
Comments or inquiries on editorial matters or Newsletter content should be directed to:Mr. Mao Zhongying, Department of International Cooperation, MOST 15B, Fuxing Road Beijing 100862, PR China Tel: (8610)68512650 Fax: (8610) 68512594
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