China accelerates plan to build 700 state-backed labs by end of this year amid push for self sufficiency in tech
- There were 501 key state labs operating in China at the end of 2018, according to the latest available data
- Two months ago a lab on transport engineering and another on ultrasonic medicine were given the green light
China is accelerating plans to enhance its basic scientific research capabilities amid the ongoing tech race with the United States.
Beijing is “speeding up” efforts to build 700 “key state laboratories” by the end of the year which will “serve as a significant force to lead fundamental research,” according to state-run newspaper Economic Information Daily.
Key state labs, which receive backing from governments, universities or corporations, “will focus on the world's [most] advanced technology and the long term development of the nation”, according to a Ministry of Science and Technology document released in 2018 when the target was first set.
There were 501 key state labs operating in China at the end of 2018, according to the latest available data from a 2019 report by the same newspaper.
The science ministry did not immediately respond to faxed inquiries asking for an update on the number of labs in operation and new research areas planned for this year.
China is facing a trade war and technology rivalry with the United States, and an expected fragmentation of the global supply chain amid the coronavirus pandemic, which is giving Beijing extra impetus to seek self-sufficiency in future.