China will intensify its development
of high technologies with strategic significance for the next 15
years, Lu Yongxiang, president of the Chinese Academy
of Sciences said in Beijing on 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 areas," Lu said.
Lu made the remarks at the ongoing Fourth National Conference on
Science and Technology, organized by the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of China (CPC) 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 high technology is of key strategic significance,
stressing that it reflects the state's innovative capabilities and
is also the commanding point for competing in the international
science and economy arena.
According to the medium- and long-term plan, China will use
information technology to spur its industrialization, foster new
growth points in the areas of sustainable development including
energy and in high technology areas such as biology, and speed up
the development of innovative capabilities in the areas involving
national security like aerospace and laser technology.
"We'll choose some strategic high technology areas which have
comparative advantages and make breakthroughs in these areas," he
said.
In 1986, China launched a key national high technology research and
development program called Program 863. Since China's reform and
opening-up policies were implemented, a series of policies
encouraging the industrialization of high technology have spurred
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.
"State investment in this area is far from enough and a state-run
innovation developed in line with a 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
added.
(Xinhua News Agency January 11, 2006)