China Opens Largest IPv6 Network
Eight Chinese governmental agencies, including the State Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Education, announced on December 25, 2004 that CERNET2, a part of China’s next generation Internet demonstration project, was put into official operation. The operation of the new network, the largest IPv6 application in the world, marks China moving into the full-fledged construction of its next generation Internet.
CERNET, the first Internet network invested by the state treasury and administered by the Ministry of Education, has a ten-year history. CERNET2, the second generation the Internet applications for education and scientific research, constitutes the only academic network among CNGI projects. The new network connects other trunk lines dotted in 20 major cities, providing a high speed IPv6 connection service for nationwide universities and research institutes at a speed ranging from 1Gbps to 10Gbps. It also connects with the global next generation Internet network via CNG1-61X (China next generation Internet exchange center). Major domestic carriers, including China Telecom, China Netcom, China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Tietong, have won in CNGI bidding their respective projects, and begun to work on them since last September.
According to a briefing, CERNET2 uses numerous proprietary core networking technologies and products developed by Chinese manufacturers, including Huawei and Tsinghua Unisplendour Bitway. More than 50% of the routers used in the trunk networks are made by these two manufacturers. The new network also supports major applications of the next generation Internet. Universities, including Tsinghua University and Peking University, displayed their research findings using the network at the opening ceremony.
China’s Electric Car Moves Ahead
Since the implementation of a special project for electric automobiles in 2001, China has established an electric automobile R&D framework made of “three verticals” (fuel battery auto, hybrid auto, and electric auto) and “three horizontals” (multi-power source integration, driving engine, and power battery). The independent technical platform facilitates China into the full-fledged development of its electric automobiles.
The special project for electric automobiles has resulted in major progresses in developing key components, system integration, and the whole-car technology. China has rolled out automobile prototypes operated with fuel battery, with sedan cars’ cumulative mileage reaching over 4,000 km, and passenger cars more than 8,000 km. China’s hybrid cars, having run for some 140,000 km on a trial basis, realizes a 30%fuel efficiency. In addition, Chinese made electric sedan and passenger cars have passed the verification checks organized by the National Quality Examination Center. The electric sedan car reaches a speed of 120 km per hour, and the passenger car records an electricity consumption of 70 kwh, equivalent to 8 liters of gasoline.
China has also worked out, through the special project, national technical standards, testing benchmarks, policies and regulations, and demonstration platforms to guide the research and development of electric automobiles. As of the end of 2004, the special project has completed the drafting of 13 new standards for electric automobiles, revised 5 standards, and worked out 6 testing benchmarks for key components and parts. 6 electric automobiles testing bases and experimental platforms are respectively created in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Dalian and other areas. The commercialization demonstration of electric automobiles are staged in 4 cities, including Beijing, Wuhan, Tianjin, and Weihai, with more than 60 electric automobiles running in these cities on a trial basis.
China’s Progress in Food Safety
On December 12, the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology announced that China has achieved major breakthroughs in food safety related key testing techniques, instruments and control system.
Those breakthroughs include, 18 instruments for testing pesticides, vet drugs, and toxins, and 25 testing kits for the quarantine examination of pesticides, vet drugs, toxins, food additives, and feed additives. Of the products, the kits for testing bird flu and Newcastle Diseases Virus (NDV) not only drastically shortens the testing time, but also finds applications in 9 quarantine bureaus in Guangdong, Shenzhen and other places. Meanwhile, the testing kits have been used in more than 20 export oriented cattle and poultry farms in north China. The food safety project also rolled out 54 techniques for the quarantine examination of pesticides, vet drugs, toxins and food contamination. Of them, the Dioxin testing technique and associated testing criteria have won international recognition. The project also developed multi-residue testing techniques able to tell 180 pesticide elements in tea, rice and fruit juice.
Chinese authorities has created an import & export monitoring, prewarning and risk analysis and control system, the first of its kind in the nation. Based on the statistical analysis and in-depth digging of a large quantity of food safety data collected from import & export, a control system is established to qualitatively and quantitatively track down import & export food safety on a real time basis. The new system has been used in numerous areas, including Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Qingdao, and Tianjin. In addition, 10 demonstration zones are created, in an effort to accelerate the new technology integration and applications, and establish a food safety guarantee system tailored to China’s own conditions.
China Basic Study Harvests
As of the end of 2003, the 973 Program, a national initiative launched in 1998 to strengthen basic research activities in China, has achieved a great number of important innovative findings and results in cutting edge fields, disclosed CHENG Jinpei, Chinese Vice Minister of Science and Technology at a meeting held on December 23, 2004 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the national key lab program and the 5th anniversary of the national basic research and development program, or the 973 Program for brief. The program, with an impressive state treasury input of RMB 3.3 billion, has deployed 157 projects in six major fields, covering agriculture, information, energy, resources and environment, and population and health.
In the last 5 years, the 973 Program has produced 52,000 scientific papers. Of them, 22,000 were published in international journals. The Program has forcefully spurred the development of China’s basic studies. Many phase findings or results demonstrate their increasingly important roles in the national economic and social development. Some innovative findings derived from the Program are of important international influence.
Among the new findings, China’s study of functional photoelectric crystals takes a leading position in the world; the two full solid state multi-wave-length laser devices will exert far reaching impacts on the competition of future photoelectric industry; China’s unique single-wall carbon nanotube preparation technique is recognized internationally as one of the four major techniques making the tubes; Chinese scientists captured for the first time in the world the high resolution 3-D structures of LHC II, marking a major breakthrough in the latest photosynthesis studies.
Enhanced Input in Basic Study
Statistics published by the State Statistics Bureau show that in 2003 China’s total expenditure in scientific research, experiment and development amounted to RMB 153.96 billion, or 1.31% of the GDP in the year. Of the expenditure, the basic study takes a 5.7% portion, or RMB 8.77 billion.
To raise China’s basic research level, the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences jointly initiated and implemented in 1984 a national key lab program. As of the end of 2003, 161 operational national key labs and 6 experimental national labs have covered major basic research disciplines, with a staff over 5,000, and scientific instruments worth RMB 3 billion. These labs have an annual budget of more than RMB 2 billion.
According to statistics, during the period of 1997-2003, national key labs were granted with 40 second prizes by the National Natural Science Award. The number of papers authored by lab scientists that are collected by the international citation index went up from 3242 in 1999 to 7835 in 2003, securing an annual growth of 25%. These labs also published high caliber papers in the world renowned journals, including Nature, and Science.
New Flying Pterosaur Discovered
JIDA (Jilin University )Pterosaur, a newly unearthed reptile species living in the early Cretaceous Period, made its debut at a news conference held on December 22, 2004 by the Paleontology and Stratigraphy Research Center, an affiliate of the Jilin University. A study team headed by Prof. DONG Zhiming, a research fellow working for both the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Jilin University, showcased the fossilized JIDA Pterosaur and associated research findings. The development marks the latest new findings achieved by the Institute in studying the socalled Rehe biological colony. The fossilized JIDA Pterosaur is the second rare fossilized species named after a university by the Chinese paleontological community.
The JIDA Pterosaur was found at a Jiufuotang stratum layer formed in the early Cretaceous Period, or about 130 million years from today, in Shangheshou, Chaoyang District, Liaoning Province. The fossilized pterosaur presents an almost intact skeleton with a well preserved skull. With a wing span of 1.6 m, the prize is the second well preserved toothless pterosaur discovered in the Rehe biological colony. It features toothless upper and lower jaws and a long neck. The finding makes an important evidence for pterosaur’s classification, evolution and geographic distributions.
Coal Burns Like Natural Gas
New Integrated Technology for Coal Powder Gasification, a key technology project listed under China’s 10th five-year plan, passed the expert verification check on December 21, 2004. Jointly developed by the Huadong Polytechnique University, Yankuang Lunan Chemical Fertilizer Manufacturer (a national engineering center for coal gasification and chemistry), and China Tianchen Chemical Engineering Corp, the proprietary technology presents advanced technical indicators for coal gasification, and creates a new alternative for the domestic coal gasification market.
According to a briefing, China has gathered valuable experience in developing the key technologies for coal gasification, including pressure transmitting for coal powder pressing, feeder design, process software, pilot experiment unit, and associated operation. The verification committee concludes that the new technology is of numerous merits, including wide adaptability for different coals, an enhanced and simplified payload adjustment range with a 4-feeding-inlets design, and improved elements synthesizing and carbon conversion rate. All these merits make the new technology of apparent advantages in oxygen, coal and heat efficiency. Technically, the new system is of an easy scalability into a large coal gasification unit.
Progresses in Panda “Cloning”
Not long ago, the Chengdu Research Center for Panda Reproduction announced that it has completed the construction of a panda cell bank. The cell bank, able to provide technical and resources support for panda cloning, is of significance to panda resources protection.
The cell bank, a part of the panda genetic resources bank that is remaining under construction, has won the recognition of worldwide panda experts, since its full-fledged construction started in the first day of 2004. Approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology as an official project, the whole genetic resources bank functions as a gene bank, mainly made up of the semen bank, egg bank, fetus bank, cell bank, DNA component and other bioproducts. A panda will physically disappear after its death. However, its genes can be preserved in the gene bank for several hundred years for reproducing offspring through technical means, a valid means to continue the existence of the panda community. Panda cloning can also be performed using the bank.
Experts believe that, based on existing findings on human genes and panda protection studies, the gene bank may come into a full-fledged operation in five years. By that time, saving panda from its endangered status through artificial reproduction means will no longer be a dream. The research findings derived from the panda genetic resources bank may also provide scientific means and models for protecting other endangered species.
Beijing Electron-Positron Collider Resumes Operation
The Institute of High Energy Physics, a part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, announced on December 30, 2004, the completion of phase I part of the BEPC II project, an upgrading effort with a total investment of RMB 640 million. On December 27, 2004, the upgraded Synchrotron Radiation Facility reopened to domestic clients ahead of schedule. In a three-day trial, the Tsinghua University scientists obtained satisfactory results for 6 experiments, using the upgraded unit.
According to a briefing, 2004 marked a year where the Synchrotron Radiation Facility move into a full-fledged construction, with the completion of a number of upgradings, including linac, removing the Beijing Spectrometer from the collision site, the collision site transformation, and transformer station expansion. On November 19, engineers successfully worked out an electron beam at the exit of the electron linac. After the resumed operation of storage ring on December 21, researchers began to work on different light beams and experimental substations at the Synchrotron Radiation Facility . On December 30, an official injection was made for six hours, marking the completion of the phase one part of the BEPC II project.
Major IT Inventions Unveiled
On December 23, 2004, the Chinese Ministry of Information Industry unveiled the selection results of top 5 IT technical inventions in 2004. 5 projects, including the Xingguang digital multimedia chip developed by the Beijing Zhongxing Microelectronics Co. Ltd., came out as the winners. The other four awarded inventions are: the Shenteng 6800 supercomputer system, developed by the Legend Group; key technologies for IPv6 core routers, jointly developed by the Tsinghua University and Tsinghua Unisplendour Bitway Networking Technology Co. Ltd.; MSR technology and bit-oriented EOC technique, jointly developed by the Wuhan Institute of Post and Telecommunication and Wuhan Fenghuo Networking Technology Corp.; and the online intelligent monitoring and diagnosing system for electric insulation, jointly developed by the Chongqing Haiji Corp. and Chongqing University.
In recent years, China has witnessed an increasingly raised IT level, with booming IT industrial scales. China’s IT industry expects a breakthrough exceeding RMB 2000 billion for the annual scale. The Chinese Ministry of Information Industry initiated the selection of top technical inventions in 2001. In the past 4 years, more than 150 projects became the candidates, and 20 of them, representing China’s highest IT level, won the awards.
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