China has set up its first national laboratory for aerodynamics to advance aerospace technology research, the Ministry of Science and Technology said on Tuesday.

The lab is sited at China's Aerodynamics Research Base in Mianyang City, in the southwestern province of Sichuan.

The State Key Laboratory for Aerodynamics will focus on technologies related to the development of large planes, such as aerodynamic noise, drag reduction and mechanisms to deal with ice freezing, the ministry said on its website.

Sichuan is also home to the largest group of wind tunnels in Asia, and China's most advanced experimental techniques in wind tunnels.

Research there has contributed to the development of China's Shenzhou spaceships and Jian fighter jets.

The laboratory opens against the backdrop of China's bid to build domestically-developed passenger aircraft with capacity of more than 100 tons and more than 150 seats.

Laboratory research will also provide technological support for major projects such as the development of wind-driven generators and future generation trains, and help tackle key problem related to air motion in the use of wind power and construction of rapid transit systems.

"Aerodynamics is the foundation of the aerospace industry and national security strategies. The need for it grows with China's development," said Cao Jianlin, vice minister of science and technology.

"The laboratory will serve as a platform for scientific research and academic exchange, facilitating major breakthroughs in this field," Cao said.

Aerodynamics, a branch of dynamics, studies the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object.

(Xinhua News Agency July 29, 2009)