As learned from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Torchlight Center of the ministry announced last Thursday the 1358 items of the State Torchlight Program. For realizing total lot of these items, it requires a newly added investment of RMB 36.3 billion-yuan (US$4.4 billion), of which the bank loan accounts for RMB 16.1 billion-yuan (US$1.93 billion).
When all these items put into operation they can turn out a gross industry output value of RMB 171.7 billion-yuan (US$20.7 billion), profit and tax of RMB 43.7 billion-yuan (US$5.3 billion) and an earning of US$ 3.6 billion of foreign exchange. The proportion of input and output is approaching 1:5 and an average profit and tax rate of 25 percent as forecast.
The items are selected and taken as assessed by experts from a total of 1934 items submitted in by 11 ministries and commissions and 45 provinces and municipalities. They cover the following technological fields as: 342 items from e-information, accounting for 25 percent of the total, 162 items from biological and new medicines, occupying 12 percent, 405 from new materials and its application, a proportion of 30 percent, 293 from photo-mechanic-electric integration with a ratio of 22 percent and new energy source and highly effective saving of energy up to 110 items, a rate of 8 percent and 3 percent for 46 items of environmental protection. In addition, 118 key items of the State Torchlight Program for the year 2002 have been assessed by experts and approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology.
This year's Torchlight Program sees a relatively high standard as a whole. In the items filed, those for the state physical science foundation, the escalation program, the "863" plan, the state assault program and the local assault program come to a total of 254 items, occupying 18.7 percent and that gaining the fund support for creation and establishment of small and medium enterprises taking up around 10 percent.
Especially, the new and innovative items of China's own property rights have witnessed a greater expansion, taking up 66.7 percent (totaling 906 items) that were developed by enterprises themselves of which 407 items have secured the patents of the state and 40 acquired the patent rights in overseas with the patent items to take up 49.3 percent of the total items developed by enterprises themselves.
As compared to the previous year software products have gained a great headway, numbering 124 items representing 9 percent of the total. However, 80 percent among them are found centering round the 21 software industry bases of the State Torchlight Program.
The State Torchlight Program was kicked off in 1988, its purpose being to make the sci-tech research results in China industrialized, commercialized and internationalized. Up to now, 25,000 items from the state and local torchlight programs have been realized, of which over 8,700 are of the state level.
The year 2001 saw the total revenue from the technology, industry and trade of the 53 high and new technological development areas at the state level come to RMB 1.19 trillion yuan with RMB 64.04 billion-yuan (US$7.73 billion) handed in as taxes, and a foreign trade earning of US$ 22.26 billion.
Through the implementation of the State Torchlight Program many provinces and municipalities have fostered groups of newly booming industries with e-info, bio-medical and new material industries to take the lead, becoming the pivotal industries of the local economy. So far China has a total of 20 industry bases featuring the special characteristics of the State Torchlight Program.
(People's Daily August 12, 2002)
