Off the wire
Chinese, U.S. firms to jointly build large auto theme park in Northeast China  • Roundup: S. Korea adds 339,000 jobs in January with jobless rate at 3.7 pct  • Roundup: Argentine ambassador-designate to China highlights bilateral cooperation  • Foreign currency deposits in S. Korea fall to 22-month low  • EU to grant 10 million euros to fight Zika virus  • Elephant Parade conservation exhibition coming to Yunnan  • 2 Indian warships call at Myanmar port  • Afghan forces kill 2 IS militants in eastern province  • Asian environment protects children from developing allergies: Australian expert  • Roundup: Australia violates human rights of former Guantanamo Bay prisoner: UN  
You are here:   Home/ Government Policy

China inaugurates national R&D plan

Xinhua, February 17, 2016 Adjust font size:

China began a national key research & development (R&D) plan on Tuesday, to streamline numerous state-funded scientific and technological programs.

The plan focuses on research in fields vital to the country's development and people's well-being, such as agriculture, energy, the environment and health, as well as strategic fields key to industrial competitiveness, innovation and national security, said Hou Jianguo, vice minister of science and technology.

The plan now covers 59 specific projects, Hou told a Ministry of Science and Technology press conference.

The plan merges several prominent state sci-tech programs, including the program 863 and program 973, focused on key fields such as biotechnology, space, information, automation, energy, new materials, telecommunications and marine technology.

Breakthroughs of the program 863 include supercomputer Tianhe-1, manned deep-sea research submersible Jiaolong, and super hybrid rice.

To address low efficiency resulting from redundant programs, over 100 programs will be merged into five plans: natural science, major sci-tech, key R&D plan, technical innovation and the sci-tech human resources.

The national key R&D plan is the first to be started.