China should copy America’s DARPA to create cutting-edge technology – for military and civilian use, says top scientist

China should create a government agency to make greater use of the civilian sector in defence-related research, the nation’s leading quantum physicist said.

Professor Pan Jianwei said the United States’ Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) was a good model of how to ­pursue innovative research that could have applications for the military.

Pan, executive vice-president of the University of Science and Technology of China, was speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress in Beijing yesterday.

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Famous innovations to come out of Darpa’s research include breakthroughs used to create the internet, global positioning ­systems and voice-recognition technology.

Pan said the US agency, which often partners civilian contractors, encouraged genuinely innovative research and China should follow its lead.

Darpa “came up with wonderful questions” and opened bidding on its projects “to the whole world”, Pan said. “Whoever you are, you can do it if you have a good solution,” he said.

“Continuing down the path, [the technology] can be used in the military or civilian sectors. The knowledge is open.”

The government announced last week that defence spending would increase by 7 to 8 per cent this year as China modernises its armed forces.