863 Program

For the manned space program, see Chinese space program#Project 863

The 863 program (Chinese: 863计划) or State High-Tech Development Plan (Chinese: 国家高技术研究发展计划) was a program funded and administered by the government of the People's Republic of China intended to stimulate the development of advanced technologies in a wide range of fields for the purpose of rendering China independent of financial obligations for foreign technologies.^[1] It was inspired by the Strategic Defense Initiative proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1983, and was ended in 2016.^[2][3][4]

On March 3, 1986, the program was suggested by Wang Daheng, Wang Ganchang, Yang Jiachi, and Chen Fangyun in a letter to China's paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, who approved the program within 2 days.^[5][6] The program was initially led by Zhao Ziyang, who was the Premier of China at the time, and received a governmental fund of 10 billion RMB in 1986, which accounts for 5% of the total government spending that year.^[4][6][7]

Among the products known to have resulted from the 863 program are the Loongson computer processor family (originally named Godson), the Tianhe supercomputers and the Shenzhou spacecraft.^[8][9][10]

History

Named after its date of establishment (March 1986, 86/3 by the Chinese date format), the 863 Program was proposed in a letter to the Chinese government by scientists Wang Daheng, Wang Ganchang, Yang Jiachi, and Chen Fangyun and endorsed by Deng Xiaoping.^[11] After its implementation during the Seventh Five-Year Plan, the program continued to operate through the two five-year plans that followed, with state financing of around 11 billion RMB and an output of around 2000 patents (national and international).^[12]

Under the plan, about US$200 billion was to be spent on information and communication technologies, of which US$150 billion was earmarked for telecommunications. In 1996 the key technological field of Marine Technology was added. The implementation took place during the Seventh Five-Year Plan and an update has been made during the period of the Tenth, which lasted from 2001 to 2005.

In 2001, under the Tenth Five-Year Plan, the program was reevaluated in consultation with foreign experts. The result was a widened focus to strengthen the competitiveness of China in the global economy.^[13] The evaluation practice has been included into the program as a project management system.^[14]

In a 2011 court case, Chinese-born scientist Huang Kexue was found guilty of stealing commercial secrets from US-based corporations and passing at least some of this information to the 863 program.^[15]

Outline

The program initially focused on seven key technological fields:^[16]

• Biotechnology
• Space
• Information technology
• Laser technology
• Automation
• Energy
• New materials

Since 1986, two more fields have been brought under the umbrella of the program:

• Telecommunications (1992)
• Marine technology (1996)

See also

•  China portal

• Science and technology in China
• Program 973
• State Key Laboratories
• Project 985
• Project 211

References

1. Wu, Hequan (6 August 2002), "The progress of communication technology subject of hi-tech research development plan of China", International Conference on Communication Technology Proceedings, 2000, Beijing, 1: 3–4, doi:10.1109/ICCT.2000.889157, ISBN 0-7803-6394-9, S2CID 60832883
2. Zhi, Qiang; Pearson, Margaret M. (July 2017). "China's Hybrid Adaptive Bureaucracy: The Case of the 863 Program for Science and Technology" (PDF). Governance. 30 (3): 407–424. doi:10.1111/gove.12245.
3. "新华社："973""863"取消后科研咋办？国家重点研发计划正式启动". Ministry of Science and Technology of China. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
4. Gewirtz, Julian (February 2019). "The Futurists of Beijing: Alvin Toffler, Zhao Ziyang, and China's "New Technological Revolution," 1979–1991". The Journal of Asian Studies. 78 (1): 115–140. doi:10.1017/S0021911818002619. ISSN 0021-9118.
5. "Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China". www.most.gov.cn. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
6. "1986年邓小平亲自决策启动"863"计划--邓小平纪念网--人民网". cpc.people.com.cn. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
7. Karplus, Valerie J.; Deng, Xing Wang (17 December 2007). Agricultural Biotechnology in China: Origins and Prospects. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-0-387-71138-6.
8. "Designing Quad-Core Loongson-3 Processor". english.ict.cas.cn. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
9. "Scientific Innovation and China's Military Modernization". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
10. "Shenzhou". China Space Report. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
11. Feigenbaum, Evan A. (2003). China's Techno-warriors: National Security and Strategic Competition from the Nuclear to the Information Age. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 141. ISBN 978-0-8047-4601-4. OCLC 49415750.
12. , Ministry of Science & Technology of the People's Republic of China (MOST), archived from the original on 20 November 2014
13. "National High-tech R&D Program (863 Program)". Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China. Retrieved 1 April 2015.: 1. Orientation and Objectives, 2. Major Tasks.
14. "National High-tech R&D Program (863 Program)". Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China. Retrieved 1 April 2015.: 4. Organization and Management, 2) Project Management.
15. BBC News Chinese scientist Huang Kexue jailed for trade theft December, 22nd 2011
16. Ke Yan (Ke, Yan), Science and Technology in China, German Edition (Beijing 2005), p.109 Passages readable online

External links

• The 863 program description by the Ministry of Science & Technology of the People's Republic of China