I. ORIGIN
Since the 1980s new tides of
technical revolution with the high technologies of
information, biology, new materials , etc. at the core have
pounded at the whole world. In 1983 the United States put
forward the Strategic Defence Initiative (i. e. the Star
Wars Initiative), then came the EURICA of Europe, the
Comprehensive Outline of Science and Technology Progress in
Year 2000 of the member countries of the Council of Mutual
Economic Assistance (CMEA) at that time, the Policies for
the Promotion of Science and Technology in the Next Ten
Years of Japan, etc., which are all strategic plans aimed at
the 21st century. The implementation of those plans have
created impacts on the great development of high
technologies in the world.
How China, as
a large developing socialist country, keeps abreast of the
new situation of rapid development of high technologies in
the world, trace the world advanced level and reduce the gap
between China and foreign countries has become the focal
point attracting the attention of scientific and also the
Party Central Committee and the State Council. In March
1986, in view of the impacts of competition in the fields of
high technologies in the world on China, four scientists,
Wang Daheng, Wang Ganchang, Yang Jiachi and chen Fanyun,
submitted a letter to the central government to suggest that
China adopt appropriate countermeasures to trace the
development of high technologies in the world. This letter
received great attention of Mr. Deng Xiaoping, who gave the
written instruction "Quick decision should be made on
this smatter without any delay ". The instructions of
Mr. Deng were a great decision with far reaching
significance. Since then the development of research on high
technologies has entered a new stage in China. Because the
letter of the scientists and the written instructions were
both put forward in March 1986, hence came the name of
"863" for the magnificent programme.
The
High tech Research and Development (863) Programme has
entered the Ninth Five-year Plan period as a phase of the
most intensive work, after the Seventh Five-year Plan period
as a phase of coming into normal operation and the Eighth
Five-year Plan period as a phase of tackling the most
difficult problems.
At present, the second high-tech
research and development programme of China for the 21st
century is being formulated. At present there are totally
eight fields and 20 subjects with the 863 programme, in
which the Ministry of Science and Technology is responsible
for organizing implementation in the six fields of biology,
information , automation, energy, materials and marine
technologies.
II GUIDING PRINCIPLES,
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
1. Guiding Principles
China
is a developing country, It is impossible and also
unnecessary for China to invest large amounts of manpower,
materials and financial resources to develop high
technologies comprehensively on a large scale in a long
period. Therefore, the general policy for the selection of
objectives of research and development for the 863 Programme
is "Combine military use with civil use, with stress on
the latter". The development of high technologies is
mainly for developing the national economy, training is
mainly for developing the national economy, training
talents; the policy "Limit objectives and concentrate
on focal points" is applied to the selection of
projects.
2. Strategic Goals
With
the efforts of 15 years, the 863 Programme will reach the
following goals:
(1) Trace the international level and
reduce the gap between China and foreign countries in the
several most important fields and strive for breakthroughs
in the fields in which China holds superiority so as to
create conditions for the economic development and national
defence around year 2000, in particular the early next
century;
(2) Train a new generation of high level
scientific and technological talents;
(3) Promote the
development of science and technology in related fields
through "umbrella radiating " effect;
(4)
Lay an advanced technical basis for the economic and social
development in the early next century and create favourable
conditions for the development of high technologies;
(5) Closely link the phasic achievements with other
programmes of extension and application so that they can be
quickly transformed into productive force and create
economic benefits.
3. Objectives for the
Ninth Five-year Plan Period
Comprehensively achieve
the strategic goals of the 863 Programme, make eight to ten
breakthroughs in important basic technologies that are
closely related with the national economy and the people's
livelihood and have the prospects of industrialization so as
to make contribution to the solution of the pressing
problems limiting the national economic development and to
the achievement of the second phase strategic goals of the
state, and lay a solid basis for the sustainable, rapid
development and industrialization of high technologies in
China in the next century.
(1) Join the advanced
ranks in some aspect of the fields of biology , information
, automation, energy and new materials and strive to retain
or reach the internationally advanced level in some aspects,
promote the technical development in related fields and
industries, increase the strength of science and technology
and integrated national power of China.
(2) Provide
technical support to the development of high yield
agriculture, biological medicine industry, information
industry, new materials industry and advanced manufacture
industry, to the establishment of future energy industries
and the national security, accelerate the application of
achievement of laboratories to industries, prop up and
develop a batch of new type industries of high technologies
and reform traditional industries by linking the 863
Programme with other programmes and economic sectors,
localities and enterprises so as to achieve higher economic
and social benefits and make significant contribution to the
solution of hot, difficult problems of the
country.
(3) Establish and improve a few of research
and development bases of high technologies in order to
create favorable conditions for the study , development and
sustainable advancement of high technologies in
China.
(4) Train talents of high technologies,
particularly complex leader type talents of strategic
thinking and inter-discipline synthesis ability
who will work into the next century, bring up and
retain a team of about 10000 persons for the study and
development of high technologies and a great deal of
scientists of great academic attainments to take up a
position in the frontiers of research of high technologies
in the world; bring up a batch of experts of engineering
technology with a solid technical basis and strong
innovation ability and a batch of entrepreneurs of high
technologies who are capable of enterprise operation and
management and a batch of experts of modern scientific and
technological management.
III. THE MAIN
CONTENTS
During the Ninth Five-year Plan period, the
863 Programme is implemented by two levels. One level is to
directly contribute to achievement of the objectives of
national economic and social development for year 2000 and
conduct the three campaigns of promoting the level of
science and technology and production of agriculture,
reforming traditional industries and promoting the
industrialization of high technologies by concentrating the
whole force of the 863 Programme and closely cooperating
with departments and localities; and the other level is to
make breakthroughs in the main key technologies in selected
fields, promote the transformation of research achievements
into productive force and achieve the defined strategic
goals of every field.
The three
campaigns of the first level are to :
1. Energetically
develop new/high technologies for the agriculture of high
yield high quality and high effectiveness and promote the
extension and application of those technologies so as to
contribute to the achievement to the state objectives to
increase agricultural output by year 2000.
Develop
the key technologies for agricultural biological engineerign
and organize extension and application of those technologies
on a large scale so as to make them important elements
promoting the agricultural development in china and lay a
solid basis for the achieveiment of the state objectives to
increase grain production and for the promotion of
agricultural production level. For example, cultivate a
batch of high quality , high yield and stress resistant
varieties of grain cops, cash crops and horticultural crops
and conduct demonstrative planting on a large scale; and
cultivate several new varieties of animals needed by the
people's daily life in large quantities and conduct pilot
tests. Strive by every means to make more contribution to
the increase of grain output in the Ninth Five-year Plan
period.
2. Study and develop automation technologies
suitable for the conditions of China and provide a technical
platform for the modernized management of enterprise to meet
the needs by manufacture industry and service
trades.
Make automation technologies, particularly
CIMS, a propeller to promote the innovative and
international competitive capacities of industrial
technologies, and guide industries to shift form the
traditional mode of economic growth to the intensive growth
type. During the Ninth Five-year Plan period, for example,
engineering for demonstrative application of CIMS will be
constructed in dozens of representative enterprises of above
ten sectors and the CIMS technologies will be extended to
about 100 large and medium-sized enterprises, with the
support of departments and localities and in combination
with the technical reform of robot will be implemented in
the national mainstay industries of automobile, electronics,
etc..
3. Make breakthroughs in the high technologies
with the Chinese characteristics and intellectual property
rights to lay a basis for the formation of high-tech
industries of biological medicine, information, new
materials, etc.,
Select several high
technologies in which China has superiority for the
breakthrough of industrialization, support the establishment
and development of high-tech industries and make the 863
Programme a starting Point of high tech industries, With the
support of the 863 Programme, the industry of
biological high technology should be initially formed and a
batch of high tech enterprises of information, manufacture
and new materials with international competitive capacity
should be established, For example it is planned to put
above the biological engineering medicines and vaccines into
production with all products to be sold to markets and the
planned output value is 5 billion yuan; the
industrialization of above the important new materials will
be promoted to replace imported products and create 5
billion yuan of output value; dozens of mainstay enterprises
of industries of high performance computers, large digital
programme-controlled exchanger, etc . will be fostered so as
to help increase the share of domestic information equipment
products in domestic and foreign markets in the Ninth-Five
year Plan period.
The main tasks of the second level
are to :
1. Continue to develop the research on
agricultural biological and medical biological technologies
and further reduce the gap between China and developed
countries in the overall level of biological
technologies;
2. Study and develop the large scale
parallel processing technology, develop key opto-electronic
components , make breakthroughs in the new type earth
observation technology, master modern communication
technology and acquire local superiority in international
competition.
3. Master parallel engineering and
application technology, develop the key and supporting
technologies needed by industrial robot and join the
internationally advanced ranks in the main aspects of
industrial automation;
4. Develop advanced nuclear
reactor technologies and establish corresponding
experimental rectors for peace purpose;
5. Develop the
key, new materials urgently needed by the development of
national mainstay industries, provision of accessories for
national defence type engineering and nationalization of
production with imported equipment (production lines ), and
raise the overall level of research on material sciences in
China
IV THE MAIN MEASURES
1.
Concentrating Resources on Important Projects
During
the Ninth Five-year Plan period, the 863 Programme will be
managed by two levels, important projects and subject
projects. It will be ensured that more than 50% of funds
will be used for important projects and the annual per
capita investment intensity will be over 75000 to 10000
yuan. The management of important projects will be
conscientiously strengthened and every effort will be made
to ensure the achievement of the objectives of important
projects.
2. Strengthen the Extension
and Application of Achievements
Strengthen the
research on the application of achievements in laboratories
to engineering, accelerate the extension and application of
mature technologies and products, extend the support to the
projects with promise of extension application and
industrialization beyond the completion of the projects, pay
attention to attracting enterprises or users to participate
or invest in the transformation of achievements, in
particular encouraging early participation and investment,
and further mobilize the investment and support of
governmental departments, sectors and
localities.
3. Strengthen Management,
Improve Managerial Institution and Operational Mechanism
Expand the range of experts and improve the overall
structure of expert teams by drawing in more entrepreneurs,
market analysis and managerial experts to participate in the
decision making and management of the 863 Programme,
Strengthen evaluation, standardize and institutionalize
evaluation. Improve the existing evaluation and monitoring
systems, strengthen the monitoring and evaluation of expert
organizations and experts , conduct engineering supervision
or other supervision mechanism for important engineering
type projects. Give play to the function of economic
lever.
4. Improve Base Construction and
Training
Conscientiously summarize the experiences of
construction of bases for the research and development of
high technologies, reform the operational mechanism and
conduct management by kind. Formulate concrete measures to
retain talents and stabilize a team of about 15000 members ,
dominated by youths, for the research and development of
high technologies, well construct post-doctor floating
stations, continue the youth foundation and network
foundation and increase the intensity of input. Entrust
youths important tasks, provide multiple approaches for
training youths, and give awards and honors to those with achievements.