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Development |
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In
1949, there were no more than 50,000 scientific and technical
personnel in China, of whom just over 500 were engaged in scientific
research, and there were only 40-odd scientific research institutions.
However, just one month after the founding of the PRC, the Chinese
Academy of Sciences was established. Thereafter, a wide-ranging group
of research institutes was established covering various industrial
sectors nationwide. By 1955, a total of 840 scientific and
technological research institutes had been set up, and the number of
scientific and technical personnel had increased to over 400,000.
In 1956, the State Council set up the Science Planning Commission,
which started to work out the first long-term program, the 12-Year
Program for Scientific and Technological Development (1956-67). Many
items of new technology were developed, and many new industries and
enterprises emerged, one after the other, and grew steadily.
In October 1964, China successfully conducted its first nuclear test,
which showed the high level of attainments of Chinese scientific and
technical personnel, that China’s science and technology in these
fields had reached fairly high levels and that China basically had the
capability to conduct advanced scientific research independently.
However, during the “cultural revolution” (1966 to 1976), China’s
vigorously developing scientific and technical undertakings were
seriously damaged, and scientific and technical work was paralyzed.
After the ten-year chaos, the state transferred its focus of work to
the modernization drive. Within a fairly short period of time, a group
of academic, scientific and technological administration and
scientific research institutes were restored or reestablished. The
State Science and Technology Commission took charge of working out a
new program-the National Compendium on Scientific and Technological
Development (1978-1985) (Draft). In the Compendium, from the major
projects, eight comprehensive areas of research were singled out as
the key ones. The eight areas of research are agriculture, energy,
materials, computers, lasers, space science, high-energy physics and
genetic engineering. According to statistics, the main scientific and
technological achievements of 1979 were greater than those of the
previous ten years.
In 1995, the National Science and Technology Conference was held, and
China began to carry out the development strategy of “rejuvenating the
nation by relying on science and education.” In the 20 years since
1980, China’s science and technology undertakings, aiming at the
world’s advanced levels, have developed rapidly along a wholesome road
and made the following striking achievements: 1) Solving a batch of
key technical problems arising in the course of national economic
construction; 2) Making considerable progress in high-tech research
and the industrial application of new and high technologies; 3)
Attaining marked successes in transferring scientific and
technological findings to production; 4) Gradually deepening the
reform of the overall scientific and technological system; 5)
Contributing to international progress in research into basic science;
6) Continuously expanding the scope of opening science and technology
to the outside world; 7) Basically setting up a team of trans-century
scientific and technical workers; and 8) Continuously improving the
system of scientific and technological laws, rules and regulations.
During half a century of development, a large number of outstanding
Chinese scientific and technical experts have created wealth for the
country by applying their wisdom and talents. Of them, the most
notable representatives are Li Siguang, who helped China remove the
label of being an oil-poor country; Qian Xuesen, who was the “father
of Chinese missile”; Qian Sanqiang, who took charge of establishing
the Institute of Atomic Energy; Tang Aoqing, who was the pioneer of
quantum chemistry in China; Yan Longping, who made great contributions
to developing hybrid rice; and Wang Xuan, who is leading the technical
revolution in the Chinese newspaper and printing industries. |
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Major Achievements |
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During the past 50 years,
China has made remarkable achievements in the fields of science and
technology, as follows :
The discovery of the Daqing Oilfield
In 1953, the leading geologist Li Siguang, based on his
geomechanics theory and thorough geological investigation, pointed out
that China had abundant oil and gas resources. In the morning of
September 26, 1959, oil was extracted near Daqing City, Heilongjiang
Province. Through the painstaking efforts of oil workers, it took only
three years to construct the Daqing Oilfield, which soon reached the
advanced world level, with an annual output of more than 50 million
tons of crude oil. The Daqing Oilfield provided valuable experiences
for the further development of the Chinese petroleum industry.
The building of the first atomic reactor
On June 30, 1958, China built her first heavy-water reactor and
circular accelerator. This atomic reactor had a thermal power of
7,000-10,000 kw, and its circular accelerator could accelerate alpha
particles, making its energy output reach 25,000,000 EV. In December
1980, China built a high-flux atomic reactor, indicating that Chinese
nuclear technology had reached the advanced world level.
The successful testing of atom and hydrogen bombs
On October 16, 1964, China successfully detonated an atomic bomb
in Lop Nor in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, thus becoming the
third country to possess the atom bomb, following the United States
and the former Soviet Union. In June 1967, China successfully
detonated its first hydrogen bomb.
The synthesis of
crystalline insulin
After six years of arduous work, in cooperation with other research
units, the Biochemistry Institute under the Chinese Academy of
Sciences, on September 17, 1965, synthesized crystalline bovine
insulin, a bioactive protein. China thus became a world leader in this
research field.
The positron and negatron electronic collider
In October 1988, the Beijing Positron-Negatron Electronic Collider
was successfully installed, not only to develop scientific research in
particle physics, energy, materials, biology, chemistry and integrated
circuits, but also to produce products for export.
Nuclear power stations
In 1970, China began to design its first nuclear power station,
the Qinshan Nuclear Power Station, in Haiyan County, Zhejiang
Province. The first-stage project of this power station, with an
installed capacity of 300,000 kw, began to be constructed at the
beginning of 1985. Meanwhile, construction began on the Dayawan
Nuclear Power Station, 60 km east of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province,
with an installed capacity of 1,800,000 kw.
Carrier rockets
In May 1980, China successfully launched a carrier rocket to a
predetermined area in the Pacific Ocean, which was the first time for
China to launch a rocket to land in international waters from its
territory. In 1982, a China-made rocket passed its first space flight
test, thus making China the fourth country to possess new-type space
microthrust rocket engines, following the United States, the former
Soviet Union and Japan. In October 1982, China successfully launched a
carrier rocket from a submerged submarine, and in September 1988, from
a nuclear submarine. Chinese carrier rockets include the Long March
carrier rockets and the “Storm I” carrier rocket.
Satellite launching technology
On April 24, 1970, the China-made “Long March I” carrier rocket
successfully took the “Dongfanghong I,” China’s first man-made
satellite, into orbit. This made China the fifth country in the world
able to independently develop and launch man-made satellites,
following the former Soviet Union, the United States, France and
Japan. Later, China successfully developed and launched scientific
experimental satellites, retrievable satellites and stationary
communication satellites, mastering the advanced techniques of
satellite retrieval and multiple satellite launching with a single
carrier rocket and synchro-positioning technology. On April 7, 1990,
at the Xichang Satellite Launching Center, the “Long March III”
carrier rocket successfully launched “Asia I,” the first foreign
satellite launched by China, marking the entry of China-made
satellites into the international market. |
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High and New Techology |
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Since March 1986, China
has been taking steps to implement the State High-Tech Research and
Development Plan, sometimes referred to as the “863 Plan,” the first
intermediate- and long-term plan combining military and civilian
production in China. The major task of this plan is to develop, on a
large scale, biology, space, information, laser, automation, energy,
new materials and oceanology technology in an organized and planned
way. Since the implementation of this plan, China has gradually
perfected a high-tech research and development strategy in conformity
with the Chinese situation.
The “Spark Program”-Formally implemented in 1986, the major task of
the “Spark Program” is to rejuvenate the rural economy by relying on
science and technology, popularize advanced and applicable scientific
and technological findings in the rural areas and lead the township
enterprises to develop in a healthy way. This plan places great stress
on the industries closely related to people’s livelihood. The
resources advantages of the rural areas are turned into economic
advantages by utilizing science and technology. The demonstration
projects promote the development of crop cultivation, animal
husbandry, aquaculture and the processing of agricultural and sideline
products. A large number of vegetable, fruit, poultry and eggs, and
aquatic product bases have been established, and advanced breeding and
cultivation techniques have been popularized. This plan has not only
aroused the farmers’ enthusiasm for production, but also enriched the
urban dwellers’ "vegetable baskets” and “rice bags.” The “Spark
Program” has also made efforts to relieve poverty in rural areas. It
has organized demonstrations of scientific and technical projects in
ten typical mountain areas, and comprehensively developed and utilized
resources to tackle the problems of food and clothing of the local
people.
The “Torch Program” -In 1988, China launched the “Torch Program,”
which is intended to put results of research in new and advanced
technology into use in production. Since the implementation of the
program, nearly 100 service centers to help people start businesses
have been set up in 53 state-level new and advanced technology
development zones. In 1997, the State Science Commission approved the
establishment of the first group of such state-level centers. These
so-called “incubator” institutes have played an important role in
accelerating the transfer of results of research in new and advanced
technology into production, and fostering new and advanced technology
enterprises and entrepreneurs.
High and New Technology Development Zones In 1998, there were 16,097
enterprises in the high and new technology development zones,
employing 1.74 million persons. These enterprises had earned a total
of nearly 484 billion yuan from the fields of technology, industry and
trade, and chalked up a total output value of 433.4 billion yuan, and
8.5 billion US dollars in export earnings. The Beijing, Suzhou, Hefei
and Xi’an high and new technology development zones have been
nominated as special zones open to the member countries of APEC.
The “Scaling Heights Program” Formally implemented in 1992, this is a
program aimed at promoting the state’s key basic research projects, by
strengthening the state’s support for basic research and giving an
impetus to its sustained and steady development. For several years
running, the “Scaling Heights Program” has made some prominent
achievements. Among them, the research work of the “Theory and
Practice of Large-Scale Science and Engineering Calculation” project
in symplectic geometry has been highly praised by famous scholars and
experts worldwide. It sparked a series of related research projects
around the world and has been successfully applied to research in
celestial mechanics, molecular dynamics and aerophysics. As a result,
it won a top state prize for natural sciences in 1997. The “Machine
Authentication and Application” project is considered a milestone in
the field of automatic inference by experts. |
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China's Top Ten Science
and Technology Achievements in 1999 |
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1. China’s first
experimental manned spaceship made a successful maiden flight.
At 6: 30 on November 20, 1999, China’s first experimental manned
spaceship, the “Shenzhou,” was launched at the newly-built space
launching site in the China Jiuquan Satellite Launching Center. This
was China’s first manned spaceship flight test, marking a new major
breakthrough in China’s manned space technology. The experimental
spaceship and the new-type rocket launched this time were
independently developed by China.
2. Great progress was
made in the study of hydrogen storage nanometer carbon tubes.
The advanced carbon materials research group, led by Cheng Huiming of
the Metals Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,
launched China’s first experimental research project into the
characteristics of hydrogen storage using one-dimensional nanometer
carbon material, and produced a large amount of nanometer carbon fiber
storing a greater quantity of hydrogen. At the beginning of 1999, the
group did research into the preparation of the single-wall nanometer
carbon tube and hydrogen storage. The group cooperated with China’s
National Key Laboratory for Rapid Solidification of Non-balanced
Alloys and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology of the United
States, and, by means of the unusual plasma hydrogen electric arc,
semi-continuously produced a large quantity of high-purity single-wall
nanometer carbon tubes, the diameters of which averaged 1.85
nanometers. This type of single-wall nanometer carbon tube with its
broad diameter can store a great deal of hydrogen at room temperature
after proper treatment.
3. Chinese scientists found “all-time low ozone” high above the
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
Using data from satellite sensing and a field survey, Chinese
scientists have procured a surprise finding that high above the
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau exists “all-time low ozone” in summer. Experts
hold that this is another major scientific discovery since the ozone
cavity over the South Pole was discovered in 1985, and that it has
drawn wide attention from science and technology circles worldwide.
4. Oldest-known vertebrate fossils found in China.
The fossilized Kunming fish and Haikou fish, found by Prof. Shu Degan,
head of the Research Institute of Early Life of Northwest University,
and his collegues, and the fossilized Haikou insect, discovered by a
research group led by Chen Junyuan, a research fellow of the Nanjing
Institute of Geological Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,
are the oldest vertebrates in the world discovered so far. They can be
traced back 530 million years, according to textual research. These
fossils were discovered in the stratum of the early Cambrian Period,
which dates back 530 million years, in Haikou District, Kunming City,
Yunnan Province. The discovery of these fossils not only reveals a
complete picture of the emergence of life in the Cambrian Period, it
also provides reliable evidence for the origin of vertebrates and
their important organs. These discoveries will help to rewrite the
history of the origin of vertebrates. s
5. Chronoclines of the
Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties inferred.
Chinese scholars have concluded that the demarcation lines between the
Xia and Shang dynasties and between the Shang and Zhou dynasties range
from 1600 B.C. to 1500 B.C., and from 1050 B.C. to 1020 B.C.,
respectively.
6. China made great achievements in its first scientific
investigation of the North Pole.
China made its first scientific investigation of the North Pole from
July to September, 1999. For the first time, the Chinese government
directly organized this large-scale comprehensive scientific
investigation of the North Pole, and for the first time China’s
scientific research ship made a voyage to the Arctic Ocean.
This investigation into the North Pole is another breakthrough in
China’s polar investigations, which have been continuing for the past
15 years. It makes China one of the few countries to have made
investigations of both the North and South poles. A series of
significant achievements were made during this investigation.
7. China bred the first transgene calf.
The Shanghai Institute of Medical Genetics successfully bred China’s
first test-tube transgene calf by means of its newly invented
technology which had already produced a transgene sheep. The
institute’s specialists simultaneously discovered a new method of
greatly raising the gene expression level, so that the proteins of
pharmaceuticals contained in the milk of transgene animals could
increase by more than 30 times. The test-tube transgene calf, named “Taotao,”
was born on February 19, 1999, weighing 38 kg. According to an
examination, it carries in its body the genes of human protein
transplanted by scientific research personnel of the institute.
8. China successfully launched its first earth resources satellite.
At 11:16 on October 14, 1999, China successfully launched into the
expected orbit the “Resource No. 1” earth resources remote sensing
satellite jointly developed by China and Brazil, along with a small
Brazilian auxiliary scientific applications satellite.
After it is put into use, the “Resource No. 1” satellite will transmit
remote-sensing image information about visible light, and
multispectral, short-wavelength and thermal infrared waves to China,
Brazil and other countries and regions capable of receiving the
information.
9. China’s scientists successfully cloned giant panda embryos.
The Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the
Fuzhou Giant Panda Research Center jointly cloned a batch of early
panda embryos for the first time in the world by means of
transplanting panda cells into an enucleated rabbit ovum. This is a
manifestation of the fact that China has once again ranked itself
among the world’s foremost nations in giant panda research.
10. China’s research into and development of human blood substitutes
has reached the internationally advanced level.
According to the “March 1986 Program” of the Chinese government,
research into and development of human blood substitutes was selected
as a major project in the nation’s biological endeavors. The Beijing
Kaizheng Bioengineering Development Company did research into blood
substitutes by using animal hemoglobin as stroma, opened up a
technical route with independent intellectual property rights,
successfully transformed animal hemoglobin into a safe and effective
human blood substitute, and secured three key technical patents.
Research in this field has reached the advanced level among similar
international research efforts. Efforts are being made to apply the
findings to commercial and industrial use. |
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Strategy of Rejuvenating
the Nation by Relying on Science and Education |
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Since 1979, Chinese
economy has developed at an impressive rate. However, this growth has
depended on extensive development propelled by resources, capital and
cheap labor. The period from now to the middle of the 21st century is
a key historical period for realizing the three-step strategic
objectives of the country’s modernization drive. Only by relying on
scientific and technological progress can a sustained, rapid and sound
development of the national economy be realized. In this way, many
problems can be effectively solved, e.g., the irrational industrial
structure, backward technological level, low labor productivity and
low quality of economic growth, thus accelerating the strategic shift
of national economic growth from the extensive to the intensive mode.
Therefore, in 1995 China decided to carry out the strategy of
rejuvenating the nation by relying on science and education.
The main contents of the strategy are: Under the guidance of the idea
that science and technology are the No. 1 productive forces and
sticking to the principle that education is the foundation of the
nation, giving priority to science, technology and education in
economic and social development; strengthening the national
capabilities in science and technology and the ability to transfer
scientific and technological findings into actual productivity;
improving the quality of the whole nation in the spheres of science,
technology and culture; setting economic construction on the road to
relying on scientific and technological progress and the improvement
of the quality of the workforce; and accelerating the pace toward the
realization of national prosperity.
The strategy of rejuvenating the nation by relying on science and
education raises the following requirements regarding the objectives
of China’s scientific and technological development :
Objectives to be achieved by the year 2000: Basically establishing a
scientific and technological system that fits in with the socialist
market economy system and the law of the development of science and
technology; making considerable progress in scientific research and
technological development in industry and agriculture, basic research
and high-tech research; markedly improving the contribution rate of
science and technology to economic development; and moving economic
construction and social development basically in the direction of
relying on scientific and technological progress, and improving the
quality of the workforce.
Strategic objectives to be achieved by the year 2010: Solidifying and
improving the newly established scientific and technological system,
and organically combining science and technology with the economy;
making scientific and technological undertakings prosper and fostering
a high-quality team of gifted scientists and technicians; enhancing by
a large margin the quality of the whole nation in the fields of
science, technology and culture; spurring the scientific and
technological strength of the major disciplines and some high-tech
areas to approach or reach the advanced world level; substantially
raising the ability of scientific and technical personnel to innovate
independently, and mastering the key technology and system design
technology of important industries; and striving to make production
technology in major fields approach or achieve the level of the
developed countries. In addition, the production technology level of
some new industries will reach the advanced world level, laying a
solid foundation for building China into a modern and strong socialist
country. |
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Science and Technology
System |
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The science and technology
research bodies in China consist of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,
research organizations functioning under departments of the State
Council and the local governments, research organizations operating
under institutions of higher learning, research organizations run by
industrial enterprises, and national defense research organizations.
The close cooperation and coordination among various research
organizations, each sharing an appropriate part of the research work,
forms a nationwide scientific and technological research system. There
are also over 160 national scientific and technological academic
organizations under the jurisdiction of the Chinese Science and
Technology Association, with branches in large and medium-sized
cities.
With its headquarters in Beijing, the Chinese Academy of Sciences is
the paramount academic organ and comprehensive research center in the
natural sciences. It has departments of mathematics and physics,
chemistry, earth sciences, biology and technology. It has 123 research
institutes, employing over 60,000 scientific and technical personnel.
Research organs attached to the Chinese Academy of Sciences are
located throughout the country, and branch academies have been
established in provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities where
research organs are concentrated. The Chinese Academy of Sciences
selects its 630 academicians, including 156 reputable academicians and
36 female academicians, from among high-level scientists, professors
and engineers who have made significant contributions in their fields.
The Academicians General Meeting is the supreme state consultative
organ on science and technology.
The Chinese Academy of Engineering, founded in June 1994, is the most
respected and highest academic advisory institution in China’s
engineering community. It currently has 439 academicians, including
seven members from overseas.
The State Natural Science Foundation Committee was established in
February 1986, with the approval of the State Council. Its task is to
render assistance to basic research projects and some applied research
projects with funds allocated from the state treasury according to the
state’s guiding principles for the development of science and
technology. The Committee has subsidized more than 40,000 projects in
the field of natural science. In the past decade and more, the
Committee of the present (fourth) term has 26.
members, including 18 academicians from the Chinese Academy of
Sciences or the Chinese Academy of Engineering. The National Committee
for Scientific and Technological Awards (NCSTA) was founded in
December 1999, with the approval of the State Council. The principal
duties of the NCSTA are to macroscopically control and direct awards
for science and technology; organize the National Appraisal Committee
for Scientific and Technological Awards by engaging relevant
specialists and scholars; pass resolutions on award-winners, and the
types and levels of the awards, and make policy-related suggestions
for perfecting the presentation of the awards; and study and tackle
other major problems concerning the national appraisal of the awards.
The prize-winning projects for 1999 were announced on January 20,
2000. The first prizes for both natural science and technological
inventions were left unclaimed. The “FBC-1 Fighter Bomber” and the
“New-Style Missile Destroyer” won special-grade prizes for scientific
and technological progress. In addition, awards for 602 projects were
decided on through discussion, and four people won Awards of the
People’s Republic of China for International Cooperation in Science
and Technology. The prize-winning projects are indicative of the great
attention paid by the whole of Chinese society to the comprehensive
use of resources and the protection of ecological balance. Young
science and technology workers are also coming into their own rapidly,
with researchers under 45 years of age accounting for 46.5 per cent of
the prize winners.
In the 1980s, the core of the scientific and technological system
reform in China was to establish a new system beneficial to economic
development, to solve the chronic problem of technology being divorced
from the economy. In the 1990s, the science and technology system
reform continued to make progress in redirecting human resources and
adjusting its structure. After more than 20 years of reform, the
unilateral and closed planned management system has been abolished,
and the situation of science and technology being divorced from the
economy has been remedied to some extent. The socialist market economy
system has begun to play a basic role in scientific and technological
operations and the distribution of scientific and technological
resources. Most technological development institutes have taken the
path of operating according to the market mechanism, gearing to the
needs of economic construction and developing on their own, and most
of the nation’s scientific and technological forces have entered the
major battlefields of economic construction in various ways. This
scientific and technological progress has been playing an increasingly
important role in promoting economic development and the transfer of
the mode of economic growth. The micro-operational mechanism of
science and technology research institutes is being transferred to a
path of development that fits in with the characteristics and new
forms of scientific and technological work. |
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Social Sciences |
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The social science
research bodies in China consist of the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences, local academies of social sciences, institutions of higher
learning, research units under the Party schools and governmental
departments, and research units under the armed forces. There are some
100,000 persons engaged in the various fields of the social sciences.
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is the highest academic
institution and a comprehensive research center for the social
sciences in China. The Academy has more than 30 research institutes
and some research centers. It has a galaxy of experts and scholars
specializing in various fields, and some 4,000 research, editing and
translation personnel, of whom nearly 200 are tutors of doctoral
candidates.
In recent years, local research institutions in the social sciences
have expanded their activities considerably. Research institutions in
the social sciences of different sizes have been established in
various provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.
The various departments of the social sciences and the humanities in
the institutions of higher learning are important research bases for
the social sciences in China. They employ more than 60,000 teachers,
of whom many do research work in addition to teaching. Besides, there
are many special research institutes attached to the institutions of
higher learning. There are about 130 institutes concerned with the
social sciences in China, employing more than 4,000 professional
researchers.
Furthermore, the governmental departments at various levels, Party
schools, military colleges and universities, cadre schools,
enterprises and institutions also have some smaller-scale social
science research organizations and personnel, a by no means negligible
research force.
Centering on the establishment of socialist theory and a socialist
market economy with Chinese characteristics, Chinese social science
workers have conducted research in depth, proceeding from combining
theory with practice, and attained many useful achievements.
Breakthroughs have been made in forecasts of the national economy and
social development, and suggestions have been put forward for solving
the theoretical and practical problems in the building of democracy
and the legal system. Prominent achievements have been made in basic
research, and a batch of treatises of a high academic level have been
published. |
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China National
Tourism Administration. |
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