Chinanews, Beijing, Apr. 7 – During the eleventh five-year period (2006-2010), China intends to invest six billion yuan for building 12 big science instruments and facilities, said Bai Chunli, vice chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology in an interview given to a reporter from the People's Daily.

 

At present, every country in the world is fully aware of the importance that big science instruments play in upgrading the country's innovative capability. Many countries, especially developed countries, having completed the construction of many big science facilities, now outline a more ambitious goal with the hope that they can further develop these programs with more input, he said.

 

The big science instruments and facilities that have finished building or are being constructed in China include the Beijing electron positron collider (BEPC), synchrotron radiation device in Hefei, heavy ion accelerator in Lanzhou, the experimental advanced superconducting Tokamak (EAST), the long-wave and short-wave time service system, the remote-sensing satellite ground station, remote-sensing airplane, the Shanghai synchrotron radiation facility (SSRF), the earth crust movement observation network, the Southwest China wild species bank, and the biosafety laboratory.

 

So far, the big science instruments that have finished construction are operating well. They have raised China's position in the world in the research of some pioneering science fields and improved China's research and development capabilities in some strategically important technological fields, said Bai, who is also executive vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

 

China will conduct more international exchanges in the construction of the big science instruments so as to upgrade the country's independent innovative capabilities, he noted.