China will finish building the foundation of its national technology transfer system by 2020 and release a complete version by 2025, according to a recently released government paper. The State Council published an outline for the system on Tuesday, saying it aims to facilitate innovation and economic development across regions, help turn scientific research into products and transform China into a science and technology powerhouse. This is the first time technology transfers have been examined thoroughly and systematically at a national level, Xu Jing, director of innovation and development for the Ministry of Science and Technology, said on Wednesday. The outline examines the role of China's main innovators - companies, universities and research institutes - and the climate they face in the policy, legal, institutional and market realms. Xu said the outline will be a blueprint for building a national ecosystem of innovation that can adapt to market changes. It will also provide possible solutions to issues that can limit the efficiency of technology transfers, such as the allocation of research resources. China's trade in technology contracts generated 1.14 trillion yuan ($171 billion) last year, up by nearly 16 percent year-on-year. It is the first time the country has passed the 1 trillion yuan mark, Xu said. In the first eight months of this year, the technology trade was worth about 532 billion yuan, a 14.4 percent increase over the same period last year. As of 2016, the Ministry of Science and Technology had registered more than 4,290 innovation spaces and 3,250 incubators nationwide. Last year, they served more than 400,000 companies, created more than 2 million jobs and attracted 93 billion yuan in investment, Xu said. Yet as trade booms, more institutional and legal issues emerge, he added. For example, companies, universities and research institutes often operate within their own institutional boundaries and have trouble communicating or cooperating with each other. Technology transfer is not a major part of the evaluation process for scientists looking for a promotion; publishing scientific papers gets more emphasis. However, Xu said, the outline encourages universities to focus more on technology transfers, and motivates scientists to think how their research can benefit the public. State-owned companies and research institutes also often have a hard time adapting to provincial policies due to structural limitations, so the outline will launch pilot zones to test the effectiveness of new policies, he said. At the same time, governments should provide stronger support to help innovators navigate market and policy changes, he added. Zhang Zhihong, head of the ministry's Torch High-Tech Industry Development Center, predicted the new system will provide a more unified and open exchange network for technologies. The national technology transfer system will facilitate cooperation and investment across regions, disciplines and markets, he said. personalised silicone wristbandsthe wristband factorywellies and wristbands 2017glow wristbandsballer bands24 hour wristbands coupon codeadjustable wristbandscustom silicone bandsyouth wristbands
The world's first comprehensive assessment of land health, released last week, should prompt global leaders and residents alike to take concerted action to address the "critical" condition of land degradation.The report, the result of a three-year assessment by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, deserves special attention in the age of social media era, where celebrity gossip and political scandals often steal the spotlight from real issues.The intergovernmental platform, a global scientific group with 129 members including China, brought together more than 100 scientists to prepare the assessment for "better-informed policy making".China, which suffers from land degradation, is going all out to reverse the damaging trend as it rams up building an "ecological civilization".In its latest move, approved by the top legislature last month, China has set up a State Administration of Forestry and Grassland to strengthen the protection of forests, grasslands, wetlands and wild life.One of the most unnerving findings of the report is that land decay, caused by unsustainable farming, mining, pollution, and urbanization, threatens to increase mass human migration to larger swathes of areas, raising the chances of conflicts.Land degradation is already affecting the well-being of 40 percent of the global population, and in just over three decades, an estimated 4 billion people will be forced to live in arid areas, the report said."By then it is likely that land degradation, together with the closely related problems of climate change, will have forced 50 million to 700 million people to migrate," said Robert Scholes, an ecologist from South Africa and co-chair of the assessment.Declining land productivity also makes societies more vulnerable to social instability - particularly in aid areas, where "years with extremely low rainfall have been associated with an increase of up to 45 percent in violent conflict," Scholes said.Land degradation exposes more people to hazardous air, water and land pollution, particularly in developing countries. But despite the "critical" land degradation, there is a widespread lack of awareness of the problem, as many of those who benefit from overexploitation of natural resources are among the least affected by the direct negative impacts of land degradation, the intergovernmental platform report said. They therefore have the least incentive to take action.Action, however, is not only urgent, but will also be cost-effective if taken early. On average, the benefits of restoration, such as higher employment, are 10 times higher than the costs. For regions like Asia and Africa, the cost of inaction will be at least three times higher than the cost of immediate action.China is among at least 112 countries that agreed by last September to make the UN Sustainable Development Goal of achieving land degradation neutrality by 2030 a national target for action, said a release from the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.The report also gives proven ways to stop and reverse land degradation. It urges governments, the private sector, international organizations and individuals all to play a part. For example, it identifies the high-consumption lifestyles in the most developed economies, combined with rising consumption in developing and emerging economies, as the underlying drivers of land degradation.
