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

China-Europe INTEROP Workshop

A China-Europe international workshop on INTEROP was convened on July 25, 2005 in Beijing. More than 30 participants from Europe and China attended the workshop, co-sponsored by an expert panel for the integrated modern manufacturing system under the National 863 Program, a high-tech research and development center, part of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and EU’s INTEROP-NoE.

INTEROP, a large project financed by the EU’s 6th Framework Program, has attracted the participation of some 170 experts, scholars and doctorate students from over 50 institutions in 15 countries. It works on interoperability for enterprise software and applications, and strives to establish a European excellence network in technical fields concerned. European experts briefed the audiences of the INTEROP’s general framework, roadmap, and enterprise scale, structures, and platforms suitable for interoperability. They also discussed special issues concerning the applications in small and medium-sized enterprises. Chinese experts talked about the development status and thinking lines of CIMS under the National 863 Program, and other related issues, including enterprise scale, workflow management, industrial software and integrated applications, EAI system and platform, knowledge management for products development, and applications in aeronautics industry.

The workshop makes an in-depth follow-up to the visit of an INTEROP delegation to China last April. In the two-day event, seven European representatives, including Arian ZWEGERS of the EU’s ICT for Enterprise Networking, applauded for the accomplishments made by their Chinese colleagues in the field, and expressed their confidence in staging more cooperation in the field of manufacturing information process. 

Enhanced MOST and UNDP Cooperation

XU Guanhua, Chinese Minister of Science and Technology, and Khalid Malik, resident representative of UNDP in China recently inked a Memorandum of Understanding on the Long Term Cooperation between the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and UNDP. Under the implementation framework of the MOU, both parties will focus cooperation activities in the fields of poverty alleviation with science and technology, promoting rural development with S&T means, and the sustainable development in energy and environment sectors. Both sides will strengthen effective cooperation through projects, seminars, negotiations, and forums, in an effort to raise the level and quality of cooperation. The new cooperation mechanism will secure a long and stable partnership between two entities for win-win outcomes.

The Ministry of Science and Technology has staged four major cooperation projects with UNDP since 1997, including capacity building of China’s poverty stricken rural areas with science and technology, poverty alleviation with telecommunication technology, capacity building of China’s agrifoods under the WTO framework, and capacity building through making poverty stricken farmers a part of the dairy industry. Other projects, including fuel battery vehicles and clean energy activities, are also launched under the cooperation mechanism. UNDP has so far contributed USD 12.4 million to the cooperation projects. Upon the establishment of a promised long-term partnership between the two organizations, MOST and UNDP will expect an increasingly widened cooperation domain. 

China-US for Low NOx and SOx Control

A second China-US seminar on low NOx combustion and SOx control was recently closed in Dalian. The meeting was convened to respond to a cooperation agreement signed in 2001 between the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and the US Department of Energy on the development and utilization of fossil fuel energy technologies.

With a theme of “clean energy and protecting environment”, the meeting is held to promote exchanges and cooperation between the two nations in the fields of low NOx and SOx control technology, and establish a technical platform for such exchanges. Both nations will strengthen exchanges and cooperation in power plant related environmental protection, in a move to bridge connections between industries in two nations, and increase governmental influence on enterprises.

Some 200 representatives from government agencies, industries and research institutes of two countries attended the meeting. XU Jing, Deputy Director, Department of High and New Technology and Industrialization, part of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and LI Xinmin, Deputy Director, Department of Pollution Control under the State Environmental Protection Administration, made their respective keynote speeches at the meeting.

China’s Three Phase Moon Probe

China’s moon probe project is made up of ‘three steps’: circling around the moon, moon landing, and returning to earth. Chinese scientists have recently proposed scientific objectives and engineering targets for each phase.

Phase I is scheduled to launch a moon probe satellite around 2007. The satellite will fly around the moon orbit, making prescribed observations.

Phase I probe expects to accomplish the following scientific objectives: collecting 3-D Moon surface images, mapping basic terrains and structural units, and drawing up a geological and tectonic sketch of the Moon as a reference for the subsequent landing. Meanwhile, researchers will analyze the concentration of different elements and distribution of different types of matters on the Moon's surface, in an attempt to understand utility elements on the planet and produce an element distribution chart. Attempts will also be made to understand the Moon’s soil properties, depth, and the reserves of Helium-3 in soil. In addition, researchers will study the space environment surrounding the Moon, collect primitive data on solar winds, and explore the impacts of solar activities on earth-moon space environment.

In phase I, engineers will work on the following missions: developing and launching China’s first moon probe satellite; mastering basic technologies concerning moon probe activities; making the first scientific moon expedition; establishing a preliminary moon probe engineering system, and gathering knowledge for subsequent moon probe activities.

Phase II project is featured with a mission to land on the Moon. China will launch a moon lander around 2012. The lander will make a soft landing on the Moon, carrying a moon rover that will make automatic surveys.

In Phase II, scientists are supposed to accomplish the following missions: studying the Moon’s continental terrains and tectonics; measuring the environment where the landing is made, and measuring thermal currents and rock remanence at the landing spot; studying the Moon’s internal structures; collecting and analyzing rock specimens; studying rocks’ chemical and mineral elements at the landing spot; and making sun-earth-moon observations, and the moon based astronomical observations.

In this part of the probe activities, engineers will accomplish the missions, including launching a moon lander, and testing soft landing techniques; developing and launching a moon rover, a moon robot able to take high resolution pictures; and collecting chemical and physical data on the Moon’s environment, shape, and rocks, as a reference for the subsequent base site selection.

The final phase marks a return to earth. China will send a lander to the Moon. It is supposed to return to earth with collected moon rock samples. Researchers on the ground will analyze and study the samples. The lander expects to launch around 2017.

In this harvesting phase, scientists will explore and study the landing spot. The lander will take moon samples wit it when retuning to earth. Scientists will study the samples, using petrologic, mineralogical, isotope, and chemical means. Based on the analysis of the Moon’s matter composition, researchers will further their studies in the direction of the origins of the moon and earth systems and associated evolutions, widening their knowledge in the field.

In this phase, engineers will develop a moon rover, a return capsule able to collect moon samples, a moon surface driller, a moon sample collector, and a mechanical arm. Based on in-situ sample analysis, the return capsule will collect needed samples before heading for earth. The rover will conduct surveys at the landing spot, and collect data necessary for the future manned moon probe and selecting a site for establishing an outpost on the Moon.

Agrifoods Quality Control

A project, initiated by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology to develop standards and a full-range quality control system for agrifoods processing, has achieved major progresses. The project has established three systems, including a general framework for agrifoods processing standards, concrete processing standards for food, edible oil, fruits and vegetables, animal products, and forestry products, and a standardization system chart.  Referring to product classifications, processing modes, and industry standards, the systems serve as a guideline for formulating a national agrifoods processing standard in the country. The efforts resulted in the establishment of a national standards database for agrifoods processing. People can share the data resources via http://www.cnis.gov.cn, a national website for standards.

Derived from the project are a common GMP system for agrifoods processing, and individual GMPs for processing liquid milk, concentrated apple juice, cold meat, and soy protein, which in turn makes a GMP framework for China’s agrifoods processing. In addition, the project team has rolled out SSOP, GMP, and HACCP based full-range quality control systems for liquid milk, concentrated apple juice, cold meat, and soy protein. The project also led to the establishment of eight production lines for demonstration purpose.

The database for agrifoods processing standards has become a systematic information service platform on agrifoods processing in the country. The common GMP system for agrifoods processing, and individual full-range quality control systems for liquid milk, concentrated apple juice, cold meat, and soy protein have found applications in eight enterprises. The efforts have resulted in two national standards and HACCP certifications for three enterprises, in addition to an economic return amounting to RMB 566 million, added taxes and profits of RMB 102 million, and a foreign exchange on export worth USD 3.78 million. The project created 35,000 jobs and brought more earnings to some 40,000 farmers.   

Chinese Herbs for Coronary Diseases

With the support of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, and thanks to their 13-year painstaking efforts, researchers of Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have worked out a salvia polyphenol acetate injection. The finding has obtained patent grants issued by both Chinese and US patent authorities. On May 25, 2005, the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration issued a new drug certificate and associated approval for the commercial production of the drug.

Based on the in-depth study of the active components in Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, researchers made a fullest possible extraction of effective elements from the herbs. They produced salvia polyphenol acetate and associated injections, innovatively using modern herb extraction techniques and making the magnesium acetate a benchmark for quality control. Thanks to the advanced techniques used, researchers produced a salvia polyphenol acetate injection with a magnesium acetate content reaching as high as 80%, and an aggregate polyphenol acetate approaching 100%. Researchers secured a full range quality control on raw herbs, pharmaceutical ingredients, and drug preparation, using the fingerprint spectrum technique. Numerous clinical trials and studies have confirmed the fact that salvia polyphenol acetate and the injections using same elements are safe, efficient, and reliable in treating coronary and angina diseases.

Condensed Stone

With the help of the Chinese Ministry of Education, a meeting was recently held to verify the condensed stone, an artificial stone-like matter made of mini crystal gluing materials, and the associated clean preparation technique. Experts agreed that the original findings has led to the establishment of a theoretical system for simulating rock formation process using mini crystal materials, and the project has developed a proprietary technical system for clean production of such materials.

The socalled “condensed stone” is a silicon-aluminum based gluing material, made of industrial wastes, including metal dregs, coal ashes, gangue, red mud, and other solid wastes. High performance building materials such as this can be produced under normal temperature and pressure, simulating the rock forming process after a volcanic eruption, and using small quantity of rock forming agent. It is deemed as “green cement” as it consumes no natural resources, and emits no “three wastes”.

Comparing with overseas artificial stone making technologies, the condensed stone is made of innovative technologies different from the former. Raw materials: overseas technology uses baked kaolin earth, while the condensed stone using wastes dregs, coal ash, and red mud discharged from aluminum electrolyzing; and manufacturing techniques: a one-way approach is used in overseas technology, namely the baked kaolin earth is grinded dry together with the activating agent, while in the condensed stone case raw materials and the activating agent are grinded wet separately, needing no baking. The final product is simply the mix of the two, using the socalled two-way approach.  

21^st Recoverable Satellite Launched

At 15:30, August 2, 2005 local time, China blasted off its 21^st recoverable satellite aboard a CZ-2C rocket, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. 9 minutes after the launch, the Xi’an based mission control said the satellite designed for scientific experiments has entered the target orbit. The satellite, as successfully launched, will work on scientific researches, land survey, mapping, and space activities. 

The launch marks the 85^th flight of Long-March series carrier rockets, and makes the 44^th successful launch in a row since October 1996. The satellite, before recovered, would be tracked, measured, and maneuvered by the Xi’an based satellite mission controller. China has so far launched 21 recoverable satellites conducting scientific experiments in space. The derived findings have contributed to China’s S&T and economic development.

China First Cloned Piglet

It takes more than a year for the research team, headed by Prof. LI Ning with China Agriculture University, to see the birth of a piglet cloned from body cells on August 5, 2005. Researchers of Hebei Sanhe Minghui Pig Farm told reporters that the piglet is healthy. The event makes China seventh country capable of cloning a pig using body cells in the world, following the UK, Japan, the United States, Australia, Korea, and Germany.

The research team has made three rounds of experiments. In January 2005, researchers planted the lab-conceived embryos into ten white sows, without success. In April, they planted similar embryos in three sows, and made one of them conceived. In May, researchers planted embryos in another two sows. One of the two got pregnant, but unfortunately miscarried 21 days later. On August 5, 2005, the sow that got pregnant in April gave the birth to three piglets in black color, after a 116-day pregnancy. Only one piglet survived the birth, with two others dying of abnormal conditions.

       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)58881360 Fax: (8610) 58881364

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