History of science and technology in the People's Republic of China facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

China has always seen Science and technology as super important for its future. In fact, leaders in China have focused on science and technology more than in many other countries. China has made amazing progress in many areas, even though it's a developing country.

For example, China has developed nuclear weapons, launched satellites into space, built super fast supercomputers, and created special hybrid rice that grows a lot of food. But this progress hasn't been even across all areas. Some fields are really advanced, while others are still catching up. This is partly because many people in rural areas don't get much education. Also, China has focused its resources on a few key areas, especially those related to the military.

During tough times like the Great Leap Forward (1958–60) and the Cultural Revolution (1966–76), China tried to get more people into science and technology by making education and training easier.

How China's Science Policy Developed
Science and Technology in the 1980s
Science System Reforms
- Problems with the Science System
- Reform Plan
Contemporary China
Technology Transfer
See also

How China's Science Policy Developed

China's leaders have always been very involved in deciding how science should be used. They see scientists and their work as key to making the country strong and growing the economy. However, trying to make science directly serve the economy and military has often been difficult. This has led to many changes in how science is managed and sometimes even caused problems between scientists and political leaders. Scientists have sometimes faced tough times because of these disagreements.

After Mao Zedong passed away, the strict rules against smart people during the Cultural Revolution were removed. Leaders like Deng Xiaoping encouraged science to grow again. But just like before, China's leaders in the 1980s still saw science mostly as a way to make the country powerful and rich. Their goal was to build a strong science and technology system that could compete with developed countries. They also wanted it to directly help agriculture, industry, and national defense.

Since the early 1980s, China has worked hard to change its science system. The goal was to use scientific knowledge more directly to help the economy. Leaders and scientists have discussed important questions like:

How much should they focus on basic research (learning new things) versus applied research (using knowledge to solve problems)?
Which areas of research are most important?
How much academic freedom should scientists have?
What's the best way to encourage new inventions and use modern technology?

Early Science and Technology in China

For a long time, China was a world leader in science and technology. From about the 10th to the 15th century, China was ahead of other countries. This was partly because China had a lot of food, which meant people had time for other activities. Also, the Confucian system encouraged educated people, and records were kept well.

Chinese discoveries were strong in areas like making things, transport, weapons, and medicine. Many Chinese inventions were found through trial and error and improved little by little. This method helped China lead the world for centuries. However, it also had limits. China didn't have its own "Scientific Revolution" like Europe did in the 16th century, even though some ideas for that revolution came from China.

Until the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912), China was a global leader in new technologies and discoveries. Many Chinese inventions changed the world, including:

Paper and printing
Gunpowder
Porcelain
The magnetic compass
The sternpost rudder (for steering ships)
The lift lock (for canals)

These inventions greatly helped economies in the Middle East and Europe.

However, after the 14th century, scientific activity in China slowed down. Scientists didn't try to explain nature with math, and they didn't work together as a community like Western scientists such as Galileo or Isaac Newton. China's leaders focused more on literature and arts, seeing science as less important.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, Jesuit missionaries brought Western math and science to China, but it didn't have a big impact. In the 19th century, after losing wars to Western invaders, some Chinese leaders realized they needed to learn foreign military technology. As part of the Self-Strengthening Movement in the 1860s, they built foreign-style arsenals (weapon factories) and shipyards. This led to learning about metallurgy (working with metals), chemistry, mathematics, and physics.

By the end of the 19th century, schools and colleges started teaching science, and Chinese students went to Japan, the United States, and Europe for advanced studies. Chinese students learned Western science easily. However, traditional Chinese officials were slow to accept foreign-trained scientists. They worried about new ideas like academic freedom and using experiments instead of old texts. They wanted to import useful technology but reject foreign ideas about politics or society. This idea was summed up as "Chinese learning for the essence, Western learning for utility." This challenge of balancing foreign technology with Chinese values continued into the 1980s.

By 1900, China's small science community had some key features:

It was based on foreign models and training, not on ancient Chinese achievements.
Chinese scientists, often educated abroad, were very connected to the world.
They were driven by patriotism and wanted to help their country. Many chose applied science over basic science.
Much scientific work was supported and directed by the government, which saw science as a tool for national power.

In the early 1900s, more colleges and universities were founded. The Science Society of China was started by Chinese students at Cornell University in 1914. It published a major journal called Kexue (Science) and worked to make science popular, improve science education, and join international scientific meetings.

When the Guomindang government was formed in 1927, it created several research groups. The Academia Sinica, founded in 1928, had many research institutes. By the 1930s, China had many foreign-trained scientists doing high-quality research.

However, between 1937 and 1949, during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War, science in China suffered greatly. Funding disappeared, and many scientists had to focus on teaching or government jobs. Many students chose not to return to China after studying abroad.

1950s: Soviet Influence

After the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, China changed its science system to be like the Soviet Union's. This system lasted until the late 1970s. The Soviet model meant:

Science was run by a bureaucracy (a system of government departments) rather than by scientists themselves.
Research was separate from actually making things.
Specialized research institutes were set up.
Applied science and military technology were top priorities.

The government wanted science to help build industry, agriculture, and national defense. On November 1, 1949, the Chinese Academy of Sciences was created. It was directly based on the Soviet Academy of Sciences.

During the 1950s, China sent about 38,000 people to the Soviet Union for training. The Soviet Union also sent about 11,000 experts to China. In 1954, China and the Soviet Union started working together on over 100 major science projects, including nuclear science.

The Soviet Union also helped China with 156 major industrial projects, focusing on mining, power generation, and heavy industry. By the late 1950s, China made big progress in areas like electric power, steel, and machine tools, as well as military equipment like tanks and jet aircraft. This program helped China produce basic goods and taught Chinese workers how to run factories. However, it also meant that research was separated from production, which caused problems later.

The Soviet model meant that non-scientists often led scientific work. They assigned research tasks based on a central plan. Scientists were seen as skilled workers who should work together in groups, not seek personal fame. Information was controlled and often kept secret.

In Western countries, scientists were part of an international community. They chose their own research topics, shared information through articles and conferences, and were rewarded by their peers. In China, under the Soviet model, rewards were controlled by administrators.

Challenges from the 1950s to 1970s

There were always challenges between scientists and China's communist leaders. These problems became very serious during the Cultural Revolution (1966–76). In the early 1950s, scientists had to attend political meetings to change their "bourgeois" (middle-class) attitudes. Ideas like scientists choosing their own research or being part of an international community were criticized.

During the Hundred Flowers Campaign (1956-57), some scientists complained about too many political meetings or unqualified party members directing their work. They were then criticized and sometimes lost their jobs.

The term "red" (politically loyal) versus "expert" (professionally skilled) was used. Leaders often acted as if these two qualities couldn't exist together. During the Great Leap Forward (1958–60), efforts were made to assign scientists to immediately useful projects and involve ordinary people in research. Professional standards were lowered to quickly increase the number of scientists.

The economic depression and famine after the Great Leap Forward, and the sudden withdrawal of Soviet experts in 1960, briefly brought back a focus on expertise.

The Cultural Revolution caused huge damage to China's science and technology. Most scientific research stopped. Some scientists were called "counter-revolutionaries" and publicly criticized. Whole research institutes were shut down for years. Scientists were sent to the countryside to do manual labor. However, military research on nuclear weapons and missiles likely continued in secret.

The Cultural Revolution was a time when smart people were seen as bad. Formal education and professionalism in science were attacked. Universities were closed from 1966 to 1970. When they reopened, student numbers were very low, and there was a strong focus on political training and manual labor. Students were chosen for their political loyalty, not their academic talent. All scientific journals stopped publishing in 1966. For almost ten years, China didn't train new scientists and was cut off from global scientific progress.

During this decade (1966-1976), China tried to create a new science system. It focused on:

Mass participation (everyone involved).
Solving immediate practical problems in agriculture and industry.
Removing differences between scientists and workers.

Leaders believed research was political and needed the party's guidance to serve the "masses" (the common people).

In the early 1970s, many peasants were encouraged to collect data and see themselves as doing scientific research. Projects included studying new crops or local insecticides. Mao Zedong was very interested in earthquake prediction. Geologists went to the countryside to gather folk wisdom about earthquake signs, and thousands of observers monitored things like water levels in wells or animal behavior. The focus was on quick, practical benefits, with little attention to scientific theories.

Western scientists who visited China in the mid-1970s noticed that there was too much trial and error and not enough focus on scientific theory. For example, in the petrochemical industry, many substances were tested as catalysts without much understanding of their basic chemical properties.

1977-84: Rebuilding and New Ideas

After the Cultural Revolution, some government and party leaders, like Premier Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping, wanted to improve conditions for scientists and restart research. In January 1975, Zhou Enlai announced China's goal for the rest of the century: the Four Modernizations. These were to modernize agriculture, industry, science and technology, and national defense.

These ideas became the main guide after Mao's death. In 1975, Deng Xiaoping became a strong supporter of scientists. He helped create plans to bring back scientists and experts, improve education standards, and import foreign technology. These ideas were strongly opposed by those who supported the Gang of Four (a powerful political group). Zhou died in 1976, and Deng was removed from his posts. This showed how central science policy was to Chinese politics and how it affected leaders' careers.

After Mao's death and the overthrow of the Gang of Four in October 1976, science and education policies quickly changed. Supporters of the Gang of Four were removed from power. Research institutes and universities reopened. Scientists returned to their labs from manual labor. Scientific journals started publishing again. The media praised science and scientists, blaming the Gang of Four for China's scientific backwardness. Scientists were now seen as "productive forces" and "workers," not potential enemies. Many scientists were even allowed to rejoin the party.

The March 1978 National Science Conference in Beijing was a big moment. Top leaders and 6,000 scientists attended. Its main goal was to publicly announce the government's support for science and technology. Science was given a key role in China's "New Long March" to become a modern socialist society by the year 2000. Deng Xiaoping gave a major speech, saying that science was a "productive force" and scientists were "workers." This idea was meant to protect scientists from political attacks.

In that speech, Deng Xiaoping said:

"The most important part of the Four Modernizations is mastering modern science and technology. Without fast development in science and technology, it's impossible to grow the national economy quickly."

Other leaders, like Premier Hua Guofeng and Vice Premier Fang Yi, urged that scientists be given freedom to do research, as long as it fit national goals. Basic research would be supported, but applied research would still be the main focus. Chinese scientists would also get more access to foreign knowledge through international exchanges.

By 1978, China's science system was largely back to how it was before the Cultural Revolution. Leaders and scientists made big plans for the future. The draft Eight-Year Plan for Science and Technology aimed for a rapid increase in researchers, catching up to world levels by the mid-1980s, and major work in fields like laser science, manned space flight, and high-energy physics. For some, mastering advanced science was a goal in itself, regardless of cost or benefit to ordinary people.

Political leaders and the media were excited about how science could bring fast economic growth. Many leaders, who weren't scientists themselves, had unrealistic expectations about quick benefits from research. This was a poor basis for science policy.

The ambitious plans for science and economic growth faced problems. By 1979, it was clear China couldn't afford all the imports and projects. There were also severe shortages of skilled scientists and engineers. In February 1981, a report called for a renewed focus on applying science to practical problems and training more scientists.

As scientists and administrators tried to connect research with real-world problems, they realized the old Soviet-style system was holding them back. They started to focus on reforming the system to make it more efficient. Between 1981 and 1985, many discussions and experiments led to a big decision in March 1985 by the party Central Committee to completely reform China's science system.

Science and Technology in the 1980s

Skilled Workers for Science

Scientific research (R&D) needs a lot of skilled people. China had a shortage of scientists, engineers, and technicians. Also, the ones they had weren't always used in the best way. In 1986, about 8.2 million people worked in natural sciences in state-owned companies, research institutes, and government offices. Only about 350,000 of these were "research personnel." Their numbers grew as more students graduated from Chinese universities and returned from studying abroad. Between 1979 and 1986, China sent over 35,000 students abroad, mostly to the United States.

The quality and distribution of these workers were important. The Cultural Revolution had created a gap, meaning there were few middle-aged scientists. The scientific community had a small number of older, often foreign-trained scientists, a small group of middle-aged ones (often with lower training), and many younger scientists who graduated after 1980. Many middle-aged scientists couldn't be easily retrained or dismissed due to China's lifetime employment system.

Scientists and engineers were mostly found in specialized research institutes, heavy industry, and military research facilities. These military facilities had the best standards and most highly trained people. Very few scientists worked in light industry, consumer goods, or rural areas.

Research Institutes

In the late 1980s, most Chinese researchers worked in specialized research institutes, not in universities or companies. There were about 10,000 such institutes in 1985. They were run and funded by central and local governments. Their research tasks were supposed to be part of a national plan. Scientists usually stayed in the same institute their whole careers. These institutes often tried to provide everything for themselves, like housing and equipment, which limited sharing and led to repeated research.

National Science Organization

The research institutes were part of five main systems:

The Chinese Academy of Sciences
Universities and colleges
Industrial branches
National defense departments
Local scientific research institutes

These five systems were separate and didn't communicate much.

Chinese Academy of Sciences

The Chinese Academy of Sciences was the most respected research group for natural sciences. It managed about 120 research institutes across China, mainly in Beijing and Shanghai. In 1986, it had 80,000 people, including over 40,000 scientists. It also ran the elite University of Science and Technology of China. Its institutes focused on basic research and did high-quality work, like on superconductor materials. It had the best labs and equipment among civilian science groups.

The academy reported directly to the State Council (China's main government body). It gave expert advice to the government and also did work for the military. It was also responsible for research that crossed different fields and for suggesting where China should buy foreign technology. In the 1980s, the academy was often asked to focus more on helping production and applying knowledge.

The academy's members were China's top scientists, some of whom had strong connections with political leaders. This helped it get good funding and operate with little interference. However, some people in other, less funded institutes felt the academy was overfunded and had too many theoreticians who didn't help the economy much.

State Science and Technology Commission

The State Science and Technology Commission was a government body that oversaw civilian research institutes. These institutes were under various industrial ministries (like electronics or coal) or local governments. More than 80% of China's 10,000 research institutes were in this category, and their quality varied greatly. Central planners thought many of these institutes were a waste of money, but powerful ministries and local governments kept them.

These institutes, which employed most of China's scientists, were supposed to focus on applying science and making useful improvements to industrial processes and products. However, they had little direct contact with factories. Their research results went up their own chain of command, not directly to factories. Scientists had little chance to talk with researchers in other ministries doing similar work.

The State Science and Technology Commission also worked with the State Planning Commission and the Ministry of Finance to coordinate science policy with national planning and budgeting. Its high-ranking leaders showed how important science was. Local governments also had their own science and technology commissions. The commission approved the Chinese Academy of Sciences' budget but couldn't control how funds were spent within the academy.

National Defense Science, Technology, and Industry Commission

Since the 1950s, much of China's research has gone into military work. Military research facilities and factories reportedly had China's best-trained people, highest technology, and top funding priority. Despite being secret, this sector developed nuclear weapons, intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear submarines, and launched communications satellites. These achievements came from focusing resources, coordinating different specialties, and strong leadership, similar to the Manhattan Project in the United States.

The military sector was separate from the civilian economy. Until the 1980s, its advanced skills didn't contribute much to the national economy. In the 1980s, efforts were made to break down these barriers. While the military sector was privileged, rapid advances in electronics and computer applications in the 1970s and 1980s made much of China's military industry outdated. This led to pressure for more contact between military research units and civilian institutes, which were catching up with foreign technology.

In 1987, military research institutes were still directed by the National Defense Science, Technology, and Industry Commission (NDSTIC). This commission, formed in 1982, focused on high-level planning and coordination across military research and factory systems.

Research in Universities and Companies

Because China adopted the Soviet model, which separated research, production, and training, very little research was done in Chinese universities. The State Education Commission provided limited funding for research. In the 1980s, a few academic research institutes were set up in areas like computer science. The World Bank helped increase research in Chinese universities. But overall, universities played a small role in scientific research.

Research institutes connected to or part of companies were rare. Only the largest mines or factories, like the Anshan iron and steel complex, had their own research units to solve immediate production problems. Companies focused on making products and had little reason to take risks with new inventions.

Planning Scientific Research

Since 1949, China has tried to organize research and development with a central national plan. These plans were broad, listing priority topics without much detail. From the 1950s to the mid-1980s, research institutes and researchers had "iron rice bowl" (guaranteed employment and funding). No institute had its budget cut for not making a discovery, and no scientist was fired for not publishing.

Much of the research ideas came from below, with institutes sending proposals to the State Science and Technology Commission. The commission's plans were made after meetings where scientists suggested possible projects. The commission allocated funds and approved projects. It couldn't monitor all thousands of institutes, so it focused on major projects and relied on expert advice. Its decisions often balanced requests for limited funds, not just scientific merit. Despite talk of central planning, research was often more decentralized and influenced by powerful ministries and local governments.

In March 1986, China launched a big technology development plan called the 863 Project.

Connecting Science Systems

In the late 1980s, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the military system were privileged in funding and resources. They tended to be closed off. The system under the State Science and Technology Commission, with the most institutes, had varied quality and a bureaucratic structure that made cooperation difficult. Universities and company research institutes had little funding and were outside the main research flow.

Overall, China's science system had problems like:

Uneven distribution of skilled workers.
Lots of fragmentation (being broken into small, separate parts).
Compartmentalization (keeping things separate).
Duplication of research.

These problems came from adopting the Soviet-style bureaucratic system in the 1950s. Chinese leaders knew about these issues and tried to fix them with high-level coordinating bodies and science associations that crossed administrative lines.

Leading Group for Science and Technology

As China's science system grew and became more separate, new groups were created to coordinate activities. The State Science and Technology Commission and the NDSTIC were examples of these.

The most important coordinating body was the State Council's Leading Group for Science and Technology, set up in January 1983. This group was China's highest-level decision-making body for science and technology. In 1987, its chairman was Premier Zhao Ziyang. Its members included top figures from various science and planning commissions. The fact that the premier led it showed how important science policy was and how much authority was needed to solve disputes and encourage cooperation.

China Association of Science and Technology

At a lower level, communication and cooperation were encouraged by professional organizations. The main one was the China Association of Science and Technology. This was a non-government group, but it was funded by the government and led by party officials, so its independence had limits. In 1986, it included 139 national scientific societies and 1.9 million individual members.

The association had three main goals:

It brought scientists and administrators together from different groups through conferences and projects, helping them communicate.
It played a big role in making science popular and sharing scientific knowledge with the public through journals, books, lectures, and training.
It was important in China's international scientific exchanges, hosting foreign scientists, organizing international conferences, and representing China in global science societies.

International Connections

After being isolated during the Cultural Revolution, China greatly expanded its international scientific exchanges. The 1980s policy of "opening up" to the outside world was very clear in science and technology. The goal was to help China's science reach world-class standards quickly and fix the damage from the Cultural Revolution. This was done by joining international conferences, working with foreign scientists, and sending thousands of Chinese students and researchers to foreign universities.

Scientific cooperation became a big part of China's foreign relations. When Chinese leaders visited other countries, they often signed science cooperation agreements. By mid-1987, China had agreements with 54 countries. When China and the United States started diplomatic relations in 1979, they created the Joint Commission in Scientific and Technological Cooperation. They signed 28 agreements on cooperation in fields from earthquake prediction to industrial management. China had exchanges with both advanced and less developed nations.

In 1987, China had scientific exchange relations with 106 countries. By 1986, Chinese scientists had completed over 500 joint projects with US scientists and were working on 1,500 projects with European countries, 300 with Eastern Europe, and at least 30 with Japanese researchers. In June 1986, the Chinese Academy of Sciences signed an agreement with the Soviet Academy of Sciences. Many exchanges with the US involved Chinese-American scientists.

By 1986, the China Association of Science and Technology was a full member of 96 international scientific societies. Over 300 Chinese scientists held positions in international science groups. China also actively participated in United Nations scientific activities. For example, Luoyang hosted a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) center for river silt research. Besides the 35,000 students sent abroad, about 41,000 Chinese scientists took part in international exchanges. Between 1980 and 1986, China hosted 155 international academic conferences. China also hired many foreign experts, often retired scientists, as short-term consultants.

These international exchanges were very successful in raising China's science level. They showed the strength of centralized direction and funding. However, the weaknesses of China's internal science system were still clear, leading to major efforts to reform it.

Science System Reforms

Problems with the Science System

From China's leaders' point of view, the science and technology system in the late 1980s, with its 8 million people and 10,000 research institutes, was expensive and not very productive. By the early 1980s, everyone agreed that major changes were needed. The main complaint was that science was still not helping the economy enough, despite many policy statements and plans. Leaders and scientists identified several organizational problems from the Soviet system, made worse by Chinese work unit and lifetime employment practices.

In an October 1982 speech, Premier Zhao Ziyang pointed out key problems:

Uneven development and lack of coordination between science fields.
Poor communication between research and production units.
Duplication of research and facilities.
Competition between institutes and administrative groups.
Poor distribution of personnel, with some units having too many skilled people and others too few.

Discussions after Zhao's speech highlighted problems like "departmentalism" (each department working only for itself) and fragmentation. These issues, combined with poor management, lack of rewards for good work, and no direct link between research and factories, meant that science wasn't helping economic growth.

Reform Plan

In March 1985, after much discussion, the party Central Committee called for big changes in science management. These reforms, outlined in the "Decision on the Reform of the Science and Technology Management System," were a major shift. They also assumed similar changes in the country's industrial and economic systems.

The reforms aimed to encourage science to help industry by:

Changing how research institutes were funded.
Encouraging the selling of technology and creating a technology market.
Rewarding individual scientists.

The idea was that most research institutes would support themselves by doing consulting and contract work. They would also work with factories through partnerships or joint ventures. The main goal was to encourage sharing and cooperation and break down the separation in China's research system.

The main way to achieve this was to change the funding system. Instead of getting direct money from the government, institutes would have to sell their services in the market. The differences between institutes under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, industrial ministries, local governments, universities, and even the NDSTIC would be reduced. All would compete and work together in a market-focused system. Institutes doing basic research would compete for grants from a new National Natural Science Foundation. The reforms were not meant to cut budgets; total state funding for science would actually increase.

A technology market and the selling of technology were to be developed to help transfer research results into products and services. Direct central control over research would decrease. Institutes would be led by younger, skilled directors who could choose their own research topics and find partners. Scientists would get better pay, recognition, and the right to do extra consulting work or move to jobs where their skills were better used.

In the 1980s, research institutes, like other Chinese work units, tried to be self-sufficient because supplies were uncertain. This made it hard to share information, services, or people across administrative lines. Expensive imported equipment was not shared, and research was often duplicated.

Scientists were assigned to institutes or universities by government labor offices. These assignments often didn't match their skills. Transfers were very difficult, leading to wasted talent. Institutes with money for foreign equipment couldn't always hire the right scientists. Many scientists were underemployed or in the wrong jobs.

Connection to Economic Reform

Implementing science and technology reforms also required changes in the economic, industrial, and local government systems. These science reforms were part of the larger economic reforms proposed in October 1984. Both sets of reforms emphasized more independence for institutions, a bigger role for the market, more competition, and rewards for successful new products. The goal was always to increase productivity and economic benefit.

The main parts of the 1980s reforms were about funding, the technology market, and job mobility for researchers. The reformers wanted to change the economic system so that factories and research institutes would be encouraged to cooperate and specialize, rather than hoard resources. Because these were big changes, the leadership expected them to be slow.

Many concrete funding changes happened after the March 1985 decision. In February 1986, the State Council announced that science projects in the state plan would be done through contracts, with open bidding. Banks would monitor spending. Institutes doing basic research would get regular state funding, but other income would come from competitive grants. The government would continue to fully fund institutes in public health, medicine, family planning, environmental science, meteorology, and agriculture.

In 1986, the new National Natural Science Foundation, similar to the United States National Science Foundation, gave out its first competitive awards. This established the idea of competition and expert review, ignoring old administrative boundaries. In early 1987, the NDSTIC announced that military weapons and research would also be managed through contracts and competitive bidding.

Technology Markets and Joint Ventures

Selling technology needs markets. In the late 1980s, China had to develop market systems for patents, selling technology, and consulting contracts. This was a huge effort and would take many years. It was hard to set prices for technology and write contracts, partly because technology markets are complex. China also lacked the legal and business rules to support such markets.

However, institutes and factories participated in "technology fairs" and formed many contracts. In 1986, the total technology trade was estimated at ¥2.3 billion. Research institutes and universities started companies to sell technical services and develop products. Even the Chinese Academy of Sciences set up companies.

In the late 1980s, China's technology markets were growing fast, but with a lot of confusion. Selling technology was difficult. In February 1987, the State Council announced that most applied scientific research institutes would be merged into large and medium-sized companies to better connect research with production needs. The exact form of the technology market was unclear, but its development had wide support and was likely to continue.

People and Job Changes

The most important part of China's science system was its skilled people: scientists and engineers. In the 1980s, the Chinese press widely recognized that scientists had been poorly treated, underpaid, and had difficult living conditions, which reduced their productivity. Often, their skills were wasted because they were assigned to jobs outside their expertise or couldn't change jobs. Many Chinese science policy writers knew that scientists moving between jobs helps scientific progress. So, the March 1985 party Central Committee decision called for reforms to allow a "rational flow" of scientific and technical personnel.

However, in the late 1980s, job mobility was the area where least progress was made. Moving scientists from one unit to another was still very difficult and rare. Scientists still needed permission from their work unit heads, which was often denied. Many institute directors were accused of having a "feudal mentality," seeing their staff as their own property.

The State Council said scientists had the right to do consulting work in their spare time. But in practice, this often caused problems. Some institute directors tried to take consulting payments or even accuse their staff of corruption. Although the press highlighted scientists who left their "iron rice bowl" (guaranteed job) at the Chinese Academy of Sciences to start their own businesses, such resignations were rare. More common were temporary consulting contracts where institutes lent their staff to companies.

The difficulty in moving scientific personnel, even when it was official policy, showed how strong China's unique work-unit system was. Allowing people to leave the units assigned by the state and party was a big break from practices since 1949. Some believed that this reform, because it challenged the party's authority over personnel, might have been too extreme to be fully achieved, even though it would help science and the economy.

Contemporary China

In 2014, the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund was created. This was an effort to rely less on foreign semiconductor companies.

Technology Transfer

Policy

In the late 1980s, China's goals of modernization and fast economic growth depended on bringing in a lot of foreign technology. The task was to import technology to update thousands of factories, mines, and power stations. Their productivity and energy efficiency were much lower than international standards.

Since 1980, Chinese policy focused on:

Improving existing facilities.
Importing technology instead of finished goods.
Updating factories by buying specific key technologies, not whole plants.

This was a new challenge. Before, China's experience with technology transfer (like Soviet aid in the 1950s) involved large projects that brought in complete factories. In the 1980s, much of the imported technology was about better ways of making things China already produced, like truck parts or telephone cables. This technology was often owned by foreign companies, and China was more willing than ever to work with them. To encourage technology imports, China worked hard to attract foreign businesses and money, allowing joint ventures and even foreign-owned companies to operate in China.

China's economic planners prioritized technology imports in electronics, telecommunications, electricity generation, transportation equipment, and energy-saving devices. The level of central control over technology imports changed in the 1980s, depending on foreign trade policies and money balances. But the overall trend was to give more decision-making power to those who would use the technology. Bank loans and other help were given to encourage users to choose the right technology.

How Technology Was Transferred

Transferring technology from a foreign company is a business deal. China preferred joint-equity ventures. In these, both the foreign and Chinese partners put in money. Each partner provided what they were good at (usually technology and access to the global market from the foreign partner, and labor and a factory from the Chinese partner). Management and profits were then shared. Many major foreign companies with technology China wanted were careful about risking their money in such ventures. But enough agreed to produce items like jet airliners, computers, and machine tools, so China's policies were considered successful.

Connecting Technology and Economics

As Chinese economic administrators and factory managers gained experience dealing with foreign companies, they became better at negotiating contracts. These contracts allowed for necessary training and advice on using foreign technology. By the late 1980s, transferring foreign technology became a normal business transaction. Technology transfer policies became more connected to general economic and foreign trade policies.

China faced problems in using the imported technology in factories and deciding which technologies to import. It became clear that these problems were due to overall weaknesses in technical and management skills. Chinese administrators increasingly saw the solution as lying in reforms of the economy and industrial management. The effort to import and use foreign technology helped connect technology policy and economic policy. It also helped solve the problem of separating science, technology, and the economy, which China's leaders had been trying to fix since the early 1950s.