Five new research institutes will be established by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) along with the governments of five cities by 2010 to reinforce the country's scientific creativity especially in new and high-tech sectors, the organization said Sunday.

The five new institutes will be located in the coastal or economically booming cities of Yantai, Qingdao, Suzhou, Shenzhen and Xiamen. They'll mainly cover coastal sustainable development, bioenergy, nanoscience, urban environment and a range of other advanced technologies.

The CAS boasts a scientific research presence in Beijing and Shanghai and the country's western areas. Now it's improving regional scientific deployment by setting up the research institutes in the eastern and southern regions. 

The establishment of the new centers will push forward the country's reform of scientific systems and boost the nation's overall capability for innovation, said Lu Yongxiang, CAS president. 

The Outline of the National Program for Long and Medium Term Scientific and Technological Development, issued by the State Council earlier this year, demands that by 2020 spending on research and development reaches 2.5 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

The Outline calls for additional spending in 16 key areas including software and semiconductors, telecommunications, nuclear power, genetically modified crops and space exploration. In 2005 China devoted approximately 1.23 percent of its GDP to research and development.

(Xinhua News Agency September 18, 2006)