China encourages the opening of more international academic institutions in the country and plans to increase its participation in global research programs in order to intensify exchanges between Chinese scientists and their foreign counterparts.
Chinese Minister of Science and Technology, Xu Guanhua, said his ministry plans to provide financial support to interested international institutions to cover operational and academic organization costs.
More Chinese scientists will be encouraged to work for international institutions and to join global research programs such as the Human Genome Project, which was initiated several years ago, Xu told a national meeting of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) Thursday, adding that participation in research focusing on global environmental evolution is also important.
Xu said the plan aims to promote "opening-up" inside China's research circle and give Chinese scientists more opportunities to learn diversified opinions and thoughts from the outside world, which is vital to the creativity of researchers.
Less than 10 of some 3,000 international research institutions have opened offices in China, he said in a keynote speech at the annual meeting.
The country's science and technology chief also vowed to take measures to curb the "brain drain" in the research circle and to promote the development of patented technologies and the use of higher technical criteria in industries, which has become increasingly important to China's export sector.
"International competition in the economic sector is in fact the competition of talents, intellectual property rights and technical criteria," Xu said.
China will extend invitations to scientists around the world to lead key research programs and will improve work conditions and salaries in an effort to convince more Chinese researchers working abroad to return home, he added.
China's entry into the World Trade Organization has put the country at a disadvantage in terms of intellectual property rights protection, Xu said, noting that the government must establish a mechanism to encourage the creation, protection and usage of patent rights.
The government will also support the research and establishment of national technical criteria to help industries improve their performance in the global market.
(Xinhua News Agency September 6, 2002)
