Rapid rise of biotechnology research in China

After more than 20 years of efforts, China has initially established a complete biotechnology research and development system, and the bioeconomy has taken off. It is understood that China currently has nearly 200 key biotechnology-funded laboratories funded by the state, departments, and local governments, more than 20,000 R&D personnel for technology and products, and many universities have majors in life sciences and biotechnology. There are about 500 companies involved in modern biotechnology in China, employing more than 50,000 people and growing at an annual rate of nearly 100 companies. Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen have established more than 20 biotechnology parks. Wang Hongguang, director of the China Biotechnology Development Center of the Ministry of Science and Technology, said that biotechnology has become the focus of research and development in many countries, and bio-economy is becoming another new economic growth point after the network economy. “People must pursue health, environment and spiritual enjoyment after basic needs such as food, housing, and automobiles are met, and the biotechnology industry is following this historical trend.” Wang Hongguang said, “The continuous breakthrough of biotechnology has promoted With the rapid rise of biotechnology, a bio-economy based on R&D, production, sales, and consumption of biotechnology products is taking shape.” Clearly, the biotechnology industry has become the focus of international technology competition. The data shows that the governments of Britain, France, Germany, Australia, Korea and other countries have invested the most in research and development in recent years as biotechnology. According to media reports, breakthroughs related to the biotechnology and life sciences fields accounted for the first place in the "Top Ten Scientific Developments" that were selected annually by internationally renowned magazines for many years. "Biotechnology will promote the development of the health industry, environmental protection industry, green economy and circular economy, which will greatly promote economic growth," Wang Hongguang said. Relevant statistics show that, as far as the world is concerned, the biotechnology industry’s sales volume has doubled every five years, and the growth rate has been as high as 25%-30%, which is about 10 times the growth rate of the world economy. Experts predict that the fourth wave with bio-economy as the main body will, like the previous three waves, exert a tremendous impetus for economic development and human progress. “The bio-economy will not form the monopoly of 'winner' like the 'network economy'. The diversity of bio-technology products provides a rare opportunity for development for resource-rich developing countries.” Wang Hongguang said. The breakthroughs China has made in biotechnology research in recent years have laid a good foundation for biotechnology innovation and industrialization. Wang Hongguang said that China's research and application of hybrid rice, corn, cotton and rapeseed are among the world's leading. The Chinese hybrid rice that has been promoted and used in more than 20 countries has accumulated more than 350 billion kilograms of grain for the world. China's abundant biological resources undoubtedly provide unique conditions for China to develop its biological economy. According to incomplete statistics, China has about 260,000 species of animals, plants and microorganisms and is one of the countries with the most abundant biological resources and biodiversity in the world. China has collected more than 3,000 Chinese families related to major diseases, collected 320,000 copies of crop germplasm resources, and established the world's largest inventory of crop germplasm resources. “Currently, compared with developed countries, China's biotechnology laboratory technology gap is not large, but there is a large gap in industrialization levels,” Wang Xiaqian, head of the China Science and Technology Promotion and Development Research Center of the Ministry of Science and Technology, said in an interview with the media. “China has 1.3 billion people to eat, nearly 500 million people eat health foods, about 130 million people take medicines, and 2 billion mu of cultivated land needs new crop varieties, which is one of the world’s largest consumer markets for biotechnology products,” said Wang Xia. . The prediction research for China's biotechnology industry shows that China can take the lead in research and development of 150 products in 10 industries, including biomedicine, genetically modified foods, functional foods, and bioreactors. The preliminary estimated economic value is 150 billion yuan, equivalent to the current China CDP. 15%. Experts also stated that people still have problems in understanding the development of bio-economics, such as the lack of awareness, the emphasis on IT, the disregard of BI, the loss of valuable biological resources, the lack of research funds, and the lack of integration of production and research. "China has both rare opportunities and unprecedented challenges. As long as we overcome difficulties and have proper policies, China is entirely at the forefront of the world's biological economy," said Wang Xia. According to incomplete statistics, the Chinese government spent about 12 billion yuan on biotechnology research and development during the 10th Five-Year Plan period. Experts suggest that preferential policies should be formulated to cultivate the biotechnology industry as a new economic growth point, and relevant laws should be introduced to create a favorable environment for the biotechnology industry.