China's national science think tank said on Wednesday it would establish a key scientific center for earth observation that would develop geomatics technologies, which are increasingly important in the country's development.

Geomatics technologies have been widely applied in several areas of China's development, such as energy and resources, environment, oceanic and weather observation and city planning, said Jiang Mianheng, vice-president of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Geomatics describes activities formerly known as surveying, mapping and the like.

The center will also build a national platform on remote sensing, taking the technology to a new level, Jiang said.

"Our goal is to build an internationally-renowned research center on earth observation and digital earth technologies and to meet key needs of China's development," the center's director Guo Huadong said.

The center will include a receiving station for earth-observation data, which, upon completion, will be able to receive 70 percent of the satellite data of the Asian continent.

Geomatics is expected to be one of the three top scientific disciplines of the 21st century, along with nanotechnology and biological science.

(Xinhua News Agency November 21, 2007)