Pillars of Chinese Science Policy & The People’s Daily
Translating the Chinese Communist Party’s perspective on science policy
Chip Capitols’ off-week deep-dive into Chinese media examines how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) identifies priority areas for national research and development. Countries around the world invest billions of dollars into both basic and applied science, with funding decisions reflecting each nation’s underlying political goals.
The article translated below from the opinion section of the People’s Daily (人民日报), the CCP’s official newspaper, identifies three pillars for China’s national science policy. These pillars offer important context as past and future Chip Capitols articles examine China’s approach to funding semiconductor technology.
Using nuclear energy as a case study, it consists of short commentary by three prominent individuals from academia and industry. Reflecting on their respective institutions’ accomplishments, each writer explains how national support for nuclear energy fulfills one of the three pillars of China’s national science policy:
Ending reliance on chokepoint technologies: The rise of American export controls and sanctions on Chinese companies has led Beijing to prioritize advancing domestic capabilities. This 2019 piece by the Ministry of Education offers a great summary of top leaders’ thinking.
Becoming a global leader in innovation: The Chinese government likes describing this as “stepping into the ranks of innovative countries” (迈进创新型国家行列). Being from a less geopolitically tense era, China’s 13th Five-Year National Science and Technology Innovation Plan from 2016 lays out the country’s goal of attaining this leadership.
Meeting national strategic needs: In 2021 the Chinese government reflected on how the “balance of international power has adjusted profoundly” since the last Five-Year Plan period. Accordingly, China’s 14th Five-Year Plan expanded upon the 2016 innovation pillar to also focus on “national strategic needs” (国家战略需求).
Chip Capitols will be back next week with Part II of a two-article series examining the intellectual property (IP) policy approaches the U.S. could follow as it establishes the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC). Shaping the NSTC's IP Policy - PART I explored how other countries allocate IP rights in public-private partnerships, and next week’s piece will apply those lessons to the CHIPS Act’s NSTC.
[Any mistakes in translation are my own. Bold, bracketed texts are annotations provided for clarity. The original Chinese text is below.]
February 07, 2023 | Source: People's Daily Online
Science and technology are the primary forces of production. Currently, a new round of industrial transformation and a profound scientific and technological revolution are underway, making the importance of science and technology increasingly prominent. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China stated: "Face the cutting edge of global science and technology, face the primary economic battlefield, face the country’s major needs, and face the people's health needs. Accelerate the realization of advanced scientific and technological self-reliance." In this issue of “What Everyone Says,” we select three articles from the field of science and technology discussing the road to [making China] a scientific and technological powerhouse and inspiring the fighting spirit to ascend.
——Editor
Committing to Tackle "Chokepoint" Technologies
Pan Shilong
Without powerful science and technology, we will have neither national prosperity nor national security. Since I was a student, I silently made up my mind to research the most advanced technology to support the development of the nation’s science and technology. After finishing my studies abroad, I returned to China and went to Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics to engage in scientific research.
The road to innovative research and development is much harder and more circuitous than one would imagine. Advanced measuring instruments commonly used abroad, and which are virtually unavailable domestically [in China], reflect the "chokepoint" problem the country faces in developing and producing advanced equipment. If key core technologies are not domestically available, purchased, or negotiated for, we must continue to independently pursue advancement, forge ahead, and make breakthroughs. I led a team that proposed new R&D ideas and developed advanced optical device production equipment. Using self-developed advanced instruments, we surmounted two major problems in the field of radar, making the prospect of domestically produced radar not only conceivable but also clearly [attainable].
The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China stated: "Accelerate the realization of advanced scientific and technological self-reliance." Today's scientific researchers are born in a great era. Many young researchers are working in major national projects such as Chang'e (嫦娥), Beidou (北斗), and Tianwen (天问). Guided by national needs and persevering to ascend, we will undoubtably make due contributions to building a scientific and technological powerhouse.
(The author is the executive vice president of the School of Electronic Information Engineering at the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.)
March toward the Forefront of Technological Innovation
Wang Teng
The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China stated: "Actively and steadily promote attaining peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality." With its attributes of cleanliness, safety, efficiency, and sustainability, nuclear fusion energy is considered a strategic energy that can solve humanity’s energy problems. The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) is a domestically developed experimental device seeking to realize controllable nuclear fusion.
The EAST device, also known as the "Artificial Sun", refers to simulating the nuclear fusion occuring inside the sun to continuously generate energy. On December 30, 2021, the EAST device successfully achieved a 1056-second long-pulse high-parameter plasma operation, creating the longest high-temperature plasma operation of a tokamak device in the world. [Pardon my 100% reliance on Baidu translate for the previous sentence and my lack of a Chinese-language degree in nuclear physics.] Behind the attainment of the 1000-second-level plasma operation is the EAST team’s collaborative research. For over ten years, after countless attempts and adjustments, we finally overcame great difficulties and laid a solid foundation future science and experimentation.
EAST’s next experiments are currently under intense preparation. Pursuing the dream of developing and using nuclear fusion energy, we will always work hard and struggle together.
(The author is an associate researcher at the Institute of Plasma Physics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, and Chinese Academy of Sciences.)
Guided by National Strategic Needs
Huang Qian
The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China stated: "Actively, safely, and in an orderly fashion develop nuclear power.” To further promote the energy revolution, nuclear power bears an important mission. Qinshan Nuclear Power Co. is the birthplace of China's nuclear power. It should take new steps and pursue new successes in the active, safe, and orderly development of nuclear power.
In recent years, Qinshan Nuclear Power has advanced the comprehensive utilization of nuclear energy and made major breakthroughs in the research, development, and production of medical isotopes and nuclear energy heating. The carbon-14 isotope, critical to diagnosing severe diseases, is in short supply in the domestic market, [so China] relies heavily on imports. To that end, we decisively launched the R&D and production of carbon-14 isotopes and, on April 26, 2022, achieved the world's first commercial production of carbon-14 isotopes. Fully leveraging the "zero-carbon" anature of nuclear power, we actively promote the construction of nuclear energy heating projects while also contributing 750 billion kilowatt hours of clean nuclear power. On December 15, 2022, China completed and started operation of its first nuclear energy industrial heating project in Haiyan, Zhejiang. Through its fearless spirit of tenacity, hustle, work, and pioneership, Qinshan Nuclear Power continues contributing to the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country.
Promoting the comprehensive utilization of nuclear energy is important for secure energy supplies, as well as green and low-carbon transformation. We must persist under the guidance of national strategic needs. We must also follow the requirements of high-quality development, active, safe, and orderly nuclear power, and resolutely win the battle for key core technologies.
(The author is Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Qinshan Nuclear Power and the China National Nuclear Corporation)
(Editors in Charge: Niu Yong, Tong Zongli)
加快实现高水平科技自立自强（大家谈·一起来想一起来干⑧·新时代新征程新伟业）
2023年02月07日 | 来源：人民网－人民日报
科技是第一生产力。当前，新一轮科技革命和产业变革深入发展，科技的重要性愈加凸显。党的二十大报告提出：“坚持面向世界科技前沿、面向经济主战场、面向国家重大需求、面向人民生命健康，加快实现高水平科技自立自强。”本期大家谈，我们选刊3篇科技领域来稿，共同探讨科技强国建设之路，鼓舞向上攀登的斗志。
——编 者
矢志攻关“卡脖子”技术
潘时龙
没有强大的科技，就没有国家的强盛和安全。从学生时代起，我就暗下决心钻研最先进的技术，助力国家科技事业发展。在国外完成学业之后，我回国来到南京航空航天大学从事科研工作。
创新研发的路途远比想象中艰辛。国外常用的高端测量仪器，国内却难以买到，这反映出我国在高端设备研发生产中所面临的“卡脖子”难题。关键核心技术要不来、买不来、讨不来，必须自己不断求索攀登、不断开拓进取、不断创新突破。我带领团队提出全新的研发思路，研制出可应用于生产高端光器件的先进仪器设备。在自主研发的先进仪器支撑下，我们突破了雷达领域的两大难题，让国产雷达不仅能看得见，也能辨得清、识得出。
党的二十大报告提出：“加快实现高水平科技自立自强。”今天的科研工作者生逢伟大时代，许许多多科技工作者年纪轻轻就在嫦娥、北斗、天问等国家重大工程中肩负重任。以国家需求为导向，持之以恒奋力攀登，我们一定能用实际行动为建设科技强国作出应有贡献。
（作者为南京航空航天大学电子信息工程学院常务副院长）
进军科技创新最前沿
王 腾
党的二十大报告提出：“积极稳妥推进碳达峰碳中和。”核聚变能因具有清洁、安全、高效、可持续等优点，被认为是能解决人类能源问题的战略能源。全超导托卡马克核聚变实验装置（EAST），是我国自行研制的、努力实现可控核聚变的实验装置。
EAST装置又叫“人造太阳”，是指模拟太阳内部的核聚变，从而源源不断地产生能量。2021年12月30日，EAST装置成功实现1056秒长脉冲高参数等离子体运行，创造了目前世界上托卡马克装置高温等离子体运行的最长时间。实现千秒量级等离子体运行的背后，是EAST科研团队的协同攻关。十几年如一日，一次次尝试，一次次调整方案，终于克服了重重困难，为未来建造稳态的聚变工程堆奠定坚实的科学和实验基础。
目前，EAST装置下一轮实验正在紧张准备中。在追求开发利用核聚变能源梦想的道路上，我们会一直努力奔跑、团结奋斗。
（作者为中科院合肥物质科学研究院等离子体物理研究所副研究员）
以国家战略需求为导向
黄 潜
党的二十大报告提出，“积极安全有序发展核电”。深入推进能源革命，核电肩负重要使命。秦山核电是中国核电起步的地方，理应在积极安全有序发展核电上迈出新步伐、探求新成效。
近年来，秦山核电大力推进核能综合利用，在医用同位素研发生产、核能供热等方面取得重大突破。对诊断重大疾病有着重要作用的碳—14同位素，国内市场紧缺，严重依赖进口。着眼于此，我们果断启动了碳—14同位素研发生产，并在去年4月26日实现全球首次商用堆生产碳—14同位素。我们充分发挥核电“零碳”属性，在贡献7500亿千瓦时清洁核电的同时，积极推动核能供热项目建设。2022年12月15日，我国首个核能工业供热项目在浙江海盐建成投用。秦山核电以敢为、敢闯、敢干、敢首创的无畏气概，不断为全面建设社会主义现代化国家添砖加瓦。
推进核能综合利用，对能源安全保供、绿色低碳转型等都具有重要意义。我们要继续以国家战略需求为导向，立足高质量发展要求，积极安全有序发展核电，坚决打赢关键核心技术攻坚战。
（作者为中核集团秦山核电党委书记、董事长）
(责编：牛镛、仝宗莉)