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Emerging Technologies

• China has realised the importance of nanotechnology for future economic development and is responding to global trends. Most of China’s nanotechnology research - both in Hong Kong and on the Mainland,is funded by universities and the Government. The Chinese Government is to massively increase investment in nanotechnologies for application in the manufacturing and medical industries. According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, China, the investment in the next five year plan (2006-10) will be several times the 210 million yuan (US$25.36 million) invested by the ministry between 2001 and 2005.

  State funding for nanotech development has been available since that time through the National 863 Hi-Tech R&D Plan.

• Advanced Manufacturing & Automation Technology
• Contemporary Integrated Manufacturing System (CIMS)
• Technologies on Robots
• Energy Technology
• Sustainable Energy Technology

• China is the largest coal-producing country and at the same time the largest coal consuming country in the world. China’s interest in CCTs covers four technology sectors, each with a range of technologies:

  • coal processing (eg coal preparation, coal briquetting and coal-water slurry preparation)
  • coal combustion and advanced power generation technology (eg fluidised bed combustion and integrated gasification combined cycles)
  • coal conversion (eg coal gasification, coal liquefaction and fuel cells)
  • pollution control technology (eg particulate control, flue-gas desulphurisation, NOX emission reduction and coalbed methane extraction and recovery).

  In China, CCT is closely related with many industrial sectors and disciplines such as coal, electric power, chemicals industry, metallurgical industry and machine building.

• According to the five-year plan of the Ministry of Science and Technology for boosting the country's scientific and technological research, the gross expenditure on R&D will account for 1.5 percent of the country's GDP.
• China plans dozens of high-tech projects ranging from high-speed broadband information systems to new materials, to boost industrial sectors in the next five years, according to the State Development Planning Commission (SDPC).
• China has injected 50 billion yuan (US$6.02 billion) since 1998 to upgrade traditional industries with high and new technologies, which are expected to result in an annual production of 85.4 billion yuan (US$10.29 billion), 16 billion yuan (US$1.9 billion) of profits and 50 billion yuan (US$6.02 billion) of tax revenue.
• In order to coordinate economic development in different areas, the Chinese government is encouraging foreign investment in central and western China, especially in sectors like agriculture, water conservancy, transportation, energy, ecological and environmental protection, tourism, mining, municipal engineering and other infrastructure projects.
• In 2001, China enabled the formation of foreign-managed domestic currency venture capital funds, but this effort proved to be unsuccessful leading to the enactment of a new set of rules, including the creation of a structure similar to the limited partnership, provided foreign investors the same opportunities as Chinese partners with respect to venture capital investment. China also lowered the barriers to entering its venture capital market by reducing the minimum capitalization requirement from $100 million to $10 million. As a result of such reforms, foreign investors have increased access to China's venture capital market.

ITS (Intellectual Transportation System), a new generation of transportation management system, is an integrated unit with information technology, communication technology, electronic control technology and computer processing technology, which enables transportation to be controlled with intelligence. Chinese government at all levels have listed ITS as one of special key projects in the 15th 5-year-plan of the Nation, ITS has nowadays become a symbol of a modern city.

Nanotechnology

China has realised the importance of nanotechnology for future economic development and is responding to global trends. Most of China’s nanotechnology research - both in Hong Kong and on the Mainland,is funded by universities and the Government. The Chinese Government is to massively increase investment in nanotechnologies for application in the manufacturing and medical industries. According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, China, the investment in the next five year plan (2006-10) will be several times the 210 million yuan (US$25.36 million) invested by the ministry between 2001 and 2005.

State funding for nanotech development has been available since that time through the National 863 Hi-Tech R&D Plan.

Further Reading

• China Nanotechnology Industry

Clean Coal Technology

China is the largest coal-producing country and at the same time the largest coal consuming country in the world. China’s interest in CCTs covers four technology sectors, each with a range of technologies:

• coal processing (eg coal preparation, coal briquetting and coal-water slurry preparation)
• coal combustion and advanced power generation technology (eg fluidised bed combustion and integrated gasification combined cycles)
• coal conversion (eg coal gasification, coal liquefaction and fuel cells)
• pollution control technology (eg particulate control, flue-gas desulphurisation, NOX emission reduction and coalbed methane extraction and recovery).

In China, CCT is closely related with many industrial sectors and disciplines such as coal, electric power, chemicals industry, metallurgical industry and machine building.

Further Reading

• Key Organisations in China and their Priority Areas in Clean Coal Technologies

Soft Science Research

Soft science is a complete scientific and technological knowledge system encompassing natural sciences, social sciences and engineering technologies and it is crucial for democratic and scientific decision-making.

SSTC is in charge of the nation's soft science research. By 1992, some 960 soft science research organizations had been established nationwide with some 29,000 researchers. Over 16,000 research topics of soft science had been completed, with 4,341 having won national, ministerial, or provincial level awards for scientific and technological progress.

China annually presents five state science and technology awards, namely the State Preeminent Science and Technology Award, the State Natural Science Award, the State Technological Invention Award, the State Scientific and Technological Progress Award and the International Scientific and Technological Award.

• The 5-million-yuan State Preeminent Science and Technology Award was set up in 1999 and given to no more than two persons every year. So far, five Chinese scientists have won the award, including Jin Yilian (a computer scientist), Wu Wenjun (a Chinese mathematician), Yuan Longping (a leading hybrid-rice expert), Wang Xuan (a computer technology professor) and Huang Kun (a big name in solid state physics).
• The first prize in China's State Natural Science Award has finally found a suitable recipient after being unclaimed for four years. Jiang Xikui, a leading Chinese scientist, won the prize for his outstanding achievement in the field of physical organic chemistry in February 2003. The first prizes for the State Natural Science Award and the State Technological Invention Award have not been presented for four consecutive years since 1997 for lack of suitable candidates.
• Four people won Awards of the People's Republic of China for International Cooperation in Science and Technology in 2000.

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. Over the past 50 years, China has granted awards to some 20,000 significant scientific and technological programs. More than 60,000 people, including 18 foreigners, have gained state science and technology awards from 1979-1999.