China Science & Technology Digest:
August 1-15, 2004

ATIP

This digest summarizes S&T-related articles that appeared in the media ATIP monitored in the first half of August 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 Calls for Cooperation with US & Japan in Space Programs
China is willing to cooperate with the United States and Japan in space programs on exploration and finding resources. China is already working with other countries on space projects. China is developing three of the eight small satellites for the world's first planned constellation of eight man-made satellites. China plans to launch its second manned space flight next year and a fly-by lunar satellite by 2007.
Source: Xinhuanet August 11, 2004

Long March IV to Launch Two Satellites Next Month
China's Long March IV carrier rocket is set to blast off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province in September. The rocket will send two satellites into orbit.
Source: Xinhuanet August 6, 2004

China Makes it in Two-Satellite-One-Place Operation
The third "Beidou" (the Big Dipper) navigation positioning satellite and the "SINOSAT- I" geo-synchronous satellite have gone into operation.
Source: People's Daily August 14, 2004

China Claims to Develop World's 1st IPV6 Router
China scientists claim that they have developed the first IPV6 wireless/mobile router in the world for the next generation of the Internet. It is very much similar to the newly developed IPV6 router standard RFC3775. The router, which was developed by Professor Zhang Hongke of Beijing Communications University and his team, is based on 128-bit Internet address space and will help create large numbers of usable IP address space resources to meet increasing demand.
Source: Xinhuanet August 14, 2004

China's Internet Users Exceed 87 Million
By June 30, 2004, the total number of Internet users in China had reached 87.0 million, a 27.9% increase from the previous year. The number of websites in China had risen 32.3% over the same period to 627,000. Domain names registered under CN reached 382,000, of which Beijing had the largest number of domain names (24.3 percent of national total). 79.1 percent were from North, East, and South China. The gigantic regional gap in Internet development will further intensify the imbalance between West and East China, between urban and rural areas, and between mental and physical workers, and may cause serious social problems.
Source: Xinhuanet August 8, 2004

Half Internet Users Connect Through Broadband
17.7 percent of China's Internet surfers used ADSL/Cable Modern, growing 77.6 percent in six months. Counting LAN surfers, the number of broadband users had exceeded half of the total number. In 2003, China's leased line users grew 315 percent, while dial-up users only increased by 1.67 percent.
Source: People's Daily August 6, 2004

Datang Chips into Xinjiang-SK JV
Shanghai-listed Datang Telecom Technology Ltd is to pay US$3.75 million to buy stakes in a joint venture between South Korea's SK Telecom and Xinjiang Tiandi Group. The JV was set to manufacture high-end CDMA for the Chinese and Central Asian markets. However, as both companies had not obtained mobile phone manufacturing licenses from the regulators, Datang Telecom was invited to join the JV. Ministry figures indicate that MII has granted 29 GSM mobile phone manufacturing licenses and 20 CDMA licenses to 37 manufacturers. A total of 26 out of the 37 manufacturers are foreign players and eight are privately-owned domestic enterprises.
Source: China Daily August 13, 2004

Anti-SARS Drug Approved for Clinical Use in China
An anti-SARS drug used in emergency treatment of SARS patients has been approved for clinical use in China. The drug is made from the antibody extracted from the blood plasma of patients recovering from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in central China's Wuhan city. Besides the SARS drug, China is also making efforts in the development of a SARS vaccine.
Source: Xinhuanet August 12, 2004

Guangdong Creates SARS Database
South China's Guangdong province has created a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) case database, which has collected and recorded 1,500 SARS cases. The local government has earmarked several million yuan to build the database. Experts believe the database will offer valuable experience for further prevention, control, and treatment of the deadly disease.
Source: China Daily August 15, 2004

Experts Predict China's Next 10 Major S&T Breakthroughs
China is expected to make ten major science and technology breakthroughs in the next 10 years in the areas of communications, Internet, computer chips, genetics, biological and protein research, pharmaceutical biotechnology, Chinese word processing, as well as nano materials and technology. These cutting edge technologies have been predicted by experts from the Ministry of Science and Technology and the national key technology institutions.
Source: Xinhuanet August 8, 2004

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