2011-07-20 2978
On July 20th, Biz Times reported that the Fourth National Conference on Social Development and Science and Technology was held on the 18th in Beijing. According to the central government's spirit of "vigorously developing science and technology related to people's livelihood," several ministries announced for the first time that they would jointly promote the development of science and technology industries related to people's livelihood during the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan." Exclusive information obtained during the conference revealed that, in addition to other planning areas without clear output value targets, multiple technology plans such as Blue Sky Technology Engineering, biotechnology, medical devices, desalination, and bio-manufacturing have indicated that the total output value of the science and technology industry related to people's livelihood during the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" will exceed one trillion yuan. Among them, the two key technology areas of biomedicine and ecological environment, which are listed as priorities for the development of the science and technology industry related to people's livelihood, will have a total output value of over 500 billion yuan.
It is understood that this conference has transformed from a department-level conference within the Ministry of Science and Technology to a cross-ministry conference. Under the leadership of Minister Wan Gang of the Ministry of Science and Technology, deputy ministers or bureau chiefs from six ministries, including the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, attended the conference, as well as science and technology officials from more than ten departments, including the Ministry of Land and Resources, the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Culture, the State Forestry Administration, and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and representatives from the People's Liberation Army.
According to the "Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Science and Technology Related to People's Livelihood" released on that day, science and technology related to people's livelihood refers to scientific research, product development, achievement transformation, and technological services conducted around the major social development needs that the people are most concerned about, most directly related to, and most realistic. Vice Minister Wang Weizhong of the Ministry of Science and Technology pointed out that during the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan," the work focus of accelerating the development of science and technology related to people's livelihood includes four aspects: population health, ecological environment, public safety, and disaster prevention and mitigation.
Vice Minister Wang Weizhong revealed that during the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" period, only five provinces accounted for over 30% of the total science and technology investment, including science and technology investment in social development, which includes science and technology related to people's livelihood. Additionally, there were as many as eight provinces with less than 10% of the total investment.
An industry expert who declined to be named stated that the field of population health involves modern medicine, drug development technology, and the biopharmaceutical industry, while the field of ecological environment involves clean energy and clean production technology. Compared to public safety and disaster prevention and mitigation, these two fields have a higher degree of marketization and industrialization. The "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" will have greater potential for capacity development.
It is understood that the total funds required for the implementation of the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan for the Development of Biotechnology (Draft for Soliciting Opinions)" by the Ministry of Science and Technology will reach 150 billion yuan, including 50 billion yuan from the central government, 30 billion yuan from local government funds, and 70 billion yuan from self-raised funds by units.
The plan sets the following expected goals: the biotechnology industry becoming a strategic emerging pillar industry, with the output value of both bio-agriculture and biomedicine reaching over 200 billion yuan by the end of 2015, the output value of industrial biotechnology exceeding 400 billion yuan, nurturing over 10 listed companies in the field of biology and medicine, and maintaining an average annual growth rate of over 15% in the bio-industry output value. The plan states that over the next five years, the country will cultivate a number of emerging strategic industries, with the development focus including major new drug development, prevention and treatment of major infectious diseases such as AIDS and viral hepatitis, research and development of vaccines and antibody products, and development of bio-energy products. The plan also mentions that the government will implement a first-purchase policy for important bio-technology equipment and products developed by domestic enterprises with independent intellectual property rights.
Rui Guozhong, director of the China Medical Science and Technology Achievement Transformation Center, stated to the reporter that China's capabilities in medical innovation research and development, efficiency in technology transfer, and product benefits all need to be improved. It is still common for newly launched drugs and medical devices to have difficulty forming scale and low profit margins. According to an anonymous source from the Ministry of Science and Technology, in terms of encouraging innovation in the pharmaceutical industry, financial support will increase year by year, and new organizational and management models are being explored to promote the transformation of medical science and technology achievements.
A pharmaceutical analyst from Changjiang Securities told the reporter that with the full coverage of national policies on major reforms of traditional Chinese medicine, improvement of Western pharmaceutical chemical preparations, and encouragement of innovation in the field of biomedicine, the entire pharmaceutical industry will benefit. Companies with stronger innovation capabilities will stand out.
According to the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan for the Development of Medical Devices Industry Science and Technology" (Draft for Soliciting Opinions), in the development of biomedicine materials primarily used for the development of medical devices, the country will support 10-15 large medical device enterprise groups, 40-50 innovative high-tech enterprises, establish 8-10 medical device science and technology industrial bases, and promote the rapid development of the medical devices industry with a growth rate of 15%-20%.
In the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan for the Development of Advanced Biomanufacturing Science and Technology" (Draft for Soliciting Opinions), the development goal for the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" is stated as driving an additional industrial output value of 100 billion yuan, with added production values of 15 billion yuan in industries such as bio-energy, bioplastics, bio-fibers, and bio-solvents, 25 billion yuan in major chemical industries, and 60 billion yuan in industries such as bio-textiles, bio-paper, bio-leather, and bulk fermentation products.
Furthermore, after the Ministry of Environmental Protection announced an investment of 22 billion yuan in environmental protection technology during the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" (far exceeding the investment budget of 6 billion yuan during the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan"), it was learned from the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Environmental Protection that the draft plan for the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan for Blue Sky Technology Engineering" is currently seeking opinions from the industry. The plan will cultivate a group of specialized large backbone enterprises, establish 15 industrial demonstration bases, achieve a reduction of 10 million tons of major atmospheric pollutants, and is expected to bring economic benefits of 100 billion yuan.
As an important field of science and technology related to people's livelihood, the "Blue Sky Project," which is dedicated to air pollution monitoring and warning and emission control, will implement the "Ten Cities and a Thousand Sets" demonstration project of Blue Sky Technology Engineering. It will carry out large-scale integrated demonstrations of pollution prevention and control technologies and products for thermal power, motor vehicles, key industrial sources, and indoor air in mega-cities, emerging cities, and energy and resource-based cities. The plan points out that it will establish a risk compensation mechanism, actively guide financial institutions to increase investment in the clean air industry, and promote financial innovation such as intellectual property pledge loans.