China Science & Technology Digest:
June 15-30, 2004

ATIP

This digest summarizes S&T-related articles that appeared in the media ATIP monitored in the second half of June 2004. Some articles reference a relevant website to assist readers in obtaining further information. For questions or to request additional information, please send email to ChinaST@atip.or.jp. The exchange rate used for this issue is RMB8.287 against the U.S. dollar.

China to Launch "Probe No. 2"
China is scheduled to launch the second probe satellite of the "Double Star Project" by the end of July. The satellite, or Probe No. 2, will be China's first civil satellite to be launched in 2004. The "Double Star Project" is the first China-Europe joint satellite probe. It was designed to probe important areas of two magnetic fields of geospace, which have never been covered by any satellites, comprising the earth's magnetic field, ionosphere, and middle to high layers of atmosphere. The satellite is slated to blast off aboard a Long March 2C/SM carrier rocket. This will be the 77th launch of the Long March rocket.
Source: Xinhuanews Agency 06/24/2004

China to Issue High-Speed Mobile Licenses in 2005
China may issue its first licenses 3G high-speed mobile services next year to squeeze more calls on existing channels and avoid reallocating government or military airwaves. China Mobile and China Unicom will spend about 60 billion yuan, or over 7 billion US dollars, to establish networks in China by 2008. Together, they will also pay about 1 billion yuan (approx. US$120.9M) next year to begin test operations.
Source: Peoples' Daily 06/28/2004

China Going for Own Flavor of 3G in 2005
China is to launch its own 3G standard by June of next year before issuing licenses to operators. The standard, TD-SCDMA, is also backed by Siemens, and handsets to be used on the Chinese networks will be dual mode and able to handle either the CDMA2000 or the W-CDMA standards.
Source: Peoples' Daily 06/24/2004

China Has 300M Mobile Phone Users
China had 300.559 million mobile phone subscribers by the end of May of this year, exceeding that of fixed-line subscribers, which stood at 290.401 million. Rural areas accounted for 30 percent of the fixed-line phone subscribers.
Source: China Daily 06/21/2004

Study Shows China to Have 118M 3G Wireless Subscribers by 2008
China will have 118 million Third Generation (3G) wireless subscribers by 2008, according to projections released Tuesday by In-Stat/MDR, a US high-tech market research firm. According to the firm, the number of mobile subscribers in China will increase from 268.69 million in 2003 to 497.86 million by 2008, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 11.7 percent. By that time, the penetration rate of mobile subscribers will reach 37.6 percent.
Source: Xinhuanews Agency 06/16/2004

China's Shuguang Listed in World's Supercomputers
China's supercomputer Shuguang 4000A has taken 10th place at the 23rd bi-annual survey of the world's top 500 supercomputers. Shuguang has a Linpack benchmark performance of 8 teraflops per second, which means it can carry out four trillion of calculations in one second.
Source: Xinhuanews Agency 06/22/2004

China-Made Passenger Plane to Debut in 2 Years
Zhang Ju'en, Director of Scientific and Technological Development of China Aviation Industry Corporation I, announced that a Chinese passenger aircraft with up to 100 seats is expected to make its maiden test flight in 2006. The project, coded ARJ21, has received funding of 2 billion yuan (approx. 240 million US dollars) from the central government.
Source: Xinhuanews Agency 06/23/2004

Regional Jets to Begin Service
The first two regional jets produced by Harbin Embraer Aircraft Industry Company Ltd, a US$25 million joint venture between Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer and two subsidiaries of China Aviation Industry Corporation II (AVIC II), were delivered to China Southern Airlines in Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. The two jets were part of six 50-seat ERJ145 turbofan regional jets that China Southern agreed to purchase earlier this year. The remainder of the jets will be delivered before the end of January next year.
Source: Peoples' Daily 06/30/2004

China-America Science Program Begins
China's Ministry of Science and Technology and the US National Science Foundation jointly launched a program named the Summer Institute in China for US Graduate Students in Science and Engineering to encourage cooperation between young researchers. The foundation has chosen the 27 best students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University, and other prestigious US schools. The US students are scheduled to work in laboratories at Qinghua University, Beijing University, and China Academy of Sciences institutes from June 21 to August 24.
Source: Xinhuanews Agency 06/22/2004

New Technology Developed to Enhance Oil Recovery in Shandong Oilfield
A new microbe oil displacement technology has recently been developed for the Shengli Oilfield in East China's Shandong Province to help raise the production of the 40-year-old oilfield. Experiments show that the air-aided microbe oil displacement technology is expected to help increase the oilfield's daily output by 25 percent. China has become a net importer of oil since 1993. Last year, the nation imported nearly 100 million tons of crude oil, with its reliance on the world oil market up to 34 percent.
Source: Xinhuanews Agency 06/28/2004

Herbal Medicine to Reduce Coronary Disease Threat
China's national cardiovascular diseases control and treatment office has announced that the Chinese medicine, popularly known as "Xuezhikang", could readjust human blood-fat levels and long term use could lower the occurrence rate of coronary disease by over 45 percent and the recurrence rate of non-fatal myocardial infarctions (heart attacks) by some 60 percent. The effect was determined on the basis of a four-year survey carried out amongst 4,870 coronary disease sufferers.
Source: Peoples' Daily 06/21/2004

HK Chinese University to Research Infectious Diseases
The Hong Kong government granted the Hong Kong University 3.2 million US dollars over five years to support a portfolio of research projects on SARS, AIDS, tuberculosis, gastroenteritis, and hepatitis, and the relationship between infectious diseases and mental health, social support, and behavioral changes.
Source: Xinhuanews Agency 06/16/2004

China to Establish Gene Pool for Longevity Study
As a part of the 863 Plan, a gene pool will be created in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in Northwest China to study the relationship between genes and people's long life, according to a contract signed between the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The institute has now obtained blood samples from 149 elderly persons aged over 90, and 33 aged over 100, of Uygur nationality in Hotan Prefecture, which is noted for its longevity. Xinjiang has 1,451 persons aged at and over 100, making up 8.1 percent of the total in the country.
Source: Xinhuanews Agency 06/27/2004

China's First Chemical Leukemia Test Unveiled
A new test for leukemia cells in blood samples has been developed in South China's Fujian Province. The test is designed to prevent the transfusion of cancerous blood and has identified two cases of leukemia from among 7,000 blood donations.
Source: Xinhuanews Agency 06/28/2004

Oral Implants Help Cure Bad Snoring
Researchers from the University of Hong Kong say that inserting small synthetic rods in the back of the mouth, in the soft palate, appears to be a safe and effective treatment in stopping severe snoring. The implants work by stiffening the soft palate and preventing it vibrating excessively as air passes through the throat during sleep. The implant procedure can be performed under local anesthesia in less than a day. Twelve patients with severe snoring problems who had received the treatment were monitored over a 3-month period and no side effects or complications were found.
Source: Peoples' Daily 06/24/2004

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