Nation maps out high-tech development plan
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-01-11 09:06

China will intensify its development of high technologies with strategic significance for next 15 years, Lu Yongxiang, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said in Beijing Tuesday.

"In the next 15 years, China will break the international monopoly on strategic high technology to ensure national security, and China will also probe and innovate in key international edge-cutting technology," Lu said.

Lu made the remarks when he is attending China's on-going Fourth National Conference on Science and Technology, the first national conference on science and technology in the new century held by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council.

Since 2003, China has organized experts to make the state's medium- and long-term development plan of science and technology. Lu acted as the panel head in charge of strategic high technology development and industrialization.

Lu explained that strategic high technology is that with key strategic significance, stressing that it reflects the state's innovative capabilities and is also the commanding point for the competition of international science and economy.

According to the medium- and long-term plan, China will use information technology to spur its industrialization, foster a new growth point in the areas of sustainable development including strategic energy and in high technology areas such as biology, and speed up to develop innovative capabilities in the areas involving national security like aerospace and laser.

"We'll choose some strategic high technology areas which have comparative advantages and make breakthroughs in these areas," he said, listing areas like information technology, biology, key materials, aerospace, nuclear, nanoscience and strategic energy.

In 1986, China launched a key national high technology research and development program known as Program 863. Since China's reform and opening-up policies were implemented, a series of policies encouraging the industrialization of high technology have brought the development of high-technology enterprises.

However, Lu pointed out China still relies on imported technology in this area for the lack of innovative capabilities in strategic high technology.

"Effective state investment in this area is far from enough and the state innovative system adapting to market economy has not been established," he stressed.

In the next 15 years, China will establish a monitoring system for international technology development, step up research and the industrialization of strategic high technology and raise more funds for it from either the state or private enterprises, he said.