e-magazine
Charting the Course
China reviews the year gone by and sets new goals accordingly
Current Issue
· Table of Contents
· Editor's Desk
· Previous Issues
· Subscribe to Mag
Subscribe Now >>
Expert's View
World
Nation
Business
Finance
Market Watch
Legal-Ease
North American Report
Forum
Government Documents
Expat's Eye
Health
Sci-Tech
Lifestyle
Books
Movies
Backgrounders
Special
Photo Gallery
Blogs
Reader's Service
Learning with
'Beijing Review'
E-mail us
RSS Feeds
PDF Edition
Web-magazine
Reader's Letters
Make Beijing Review your homepage
Top Story
Top Story
UPDATED: February 10, 2015 NO. 7 FEBRUARY 12, 2015
Research Funding Overhaul
China revises how financing is doled out to improve the efficacy of its scientific endeavors
By Tang Yuankai
Share

GLOBAL LEADER: The Tianhe-2 supercomputer developed by the National University of Defense Technology in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, is now the world's most powerful computer. It is a product of China's 863 Program for hi-tech development (LONG HONGTAO)

An overhaul of China's scientific funding system has been initiated with the State Council issuing a reform plan in January.

The document, jointly drafted by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the Ministry of Finance (MOF), aims to solve chronic problems regarding the allocation of financing for research and development programs so as to push forward other reform initiatives affecting science and technology.

The reform will strengthen coordination between concerned government departments, as well as endorse result-oriented and centralized management, according to Huai Jinpeng, President of Beihang University in Beijing. Huai said the new rules will effectively channel research funding to national priority projects, make R&D projects more compatible with the development of industry chains, and set up transparent evaluation systems.

Since early 2013, Huai has attended nearly 10 seminars to discuss the reform plan until it was published. "This reform is a shakeup of science and technology management. It will profoundly change the traditional model," he said.

Integrated management

The State Council's reform plan said that by 2017, all existing national R&D programs will be integrated, including Program 863 for hi-tech development, Program 973 for basic research, the National Science and Technology Infrastructure Program, as well as research programs administered by Central Government departments such as the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The reform aims to reorganize R&D programs managed by various government departments through industry and innovation chains," said Lu Wei, Director of the Department of Techno-Economic Research under the Development Research Center of the State Council. Ultimately, this means the government is going to support the research, development, demonstration and deployment of demand-oriented programs.

Since the beginning of the 1980s, the Chinese Government has launched many R&D programs to keep abreast of the latest developments in science and technology and facilitate the application of research results in production processes. Some special programs crucial to economic development and national security have also been implemented.

Official statistics show that in 2013, fiscal expenditure on science and technology exceeded 500 billion yuan ($80 billion); while in contrast, that expenditure in 1978 was a little more than 5.2 billion yuan ($829 million), representing a nearly 100-fold growth.

China's total investment in R&D programs in 2013 exceeded 1.18 trillion yuan ($189 billion), up 15 percent from the previous year, according to data released in October 2014 jointly by the National Bureau of Statistics, the MOST, and the MOF. In that year, research and development expenditure accounted for a record high of 2.08 percent of the national GDP.

Major science and technology programs have given birth to some of China's greatest scientific and technological achievements in recent years, such as high-performance computing, manned space flights and lunar exploration missions, development of the country's first manned deep-sea research submersible and high-yield hybrid rice breeding.

But huge increases in research funding have not been matched with a proportional increase in world-class research results and scientists.

In the past 30 years or so, these science and technology programs have been administered by various government departments. According to Beijing-based Outlook magazine, more than 30 government departments have managed about 100 science and technology programs.

Under this arrangement, for one project, a researcher can apply for funding from multiple departments, leading to overlapping and hence inefficient use of government funds.

It has also given rise to power-money deals and abuse of funding. Such cases involve officials in charge of fund allocation, professors, academicians and other researchers. For instance, in October 2014, the MOST revealed that seven professors in five universities were investigated for obtaining more than 25 million yuan ($4 million) in research funds through deception.

Wan Gang, Minister of Science and Technology, admitted that as the 100 or so science and technology programs are scattered across scores of government departments, loopholes such as duplicated application, academic corruption and poor supervision exist.

1   2   3   Next  



 
Top Story
-Empowerment Through Infrastructure
-Special Reports: APEC China 2014
-Protection at Home
-A Weaker Union
-Will the 'China Miracle' Continue?
Most Popular
在线翻译
About BEIJINGREVIEW | About beijingreview.com | Rss Feeds | Contact us | Advertising | Subscribe & Service | Make Beijing Review your homepage
Copyright Beijing Review All right reserved