863 Program Explained

The 863 program or State High-Tech Development Plan is 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 absorbed alongside Program 973 into the "National Key R&D Program" 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.[7] According to the US National Counterintelligence and Security Center, the 863 program "provides funding and guidance for efforts to clandestinely acquire US technology and sensitive economic information."[8]

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.[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).

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.[12] The evaluation practice has been included into the program as a project management system.

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.[13]

Outline

The program initially focused on seven key technological fields:[14]

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

See also

References

  1. Book: Hequan . Wu . Wu Hequan . WCC 2000 - ICCT 2000. 2000 International Conference on Communication Technology Proceedings (Cat. No.00EX420) . The progress of communication technology subject of hi-tech research development plan of China . 1 . 2002-08-06 . . 0-7803-6394-9 . 3–4 . 10.1109/ICCT.2000.889157. 60832883 .
  2. Zhi . Qiang . Pearson . Margaret M. . July 2017 . China's Hybrid Adaptive Bureaucracy: The Case of the 863 Program for Science and Technology . Governance . en . 30 . 3 . 407–424 . 10.1111/gove.12245 . 152280888 . 29 November 2019 . 20 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220920171015/https://gvpt.umd.edu/sites/gvpt.umd.edu/files/pubs/zhi_pearson-2016-governance.pdf . live .
  3. 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. en. 78. 1. 115–140. 10.1017/S0021911818002619. 0021-9118. free.
  4. Web site: September 13, 2021 . Press Conference on the "Launch and Implementation of the National Key R&D Program": Summary Transcript . 2024-01-06 . . en-US . 3 October 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231003013549/https://cset.georgetown.edu/publication/press-conference-on-the-launch-and-implementation-of-the-national-key-rd-program-summary-transcript/ . live .
  5. Web site: Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China. www.most.gov.cn. 2019-11-29. 6 January 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230106013128/https://www.most.gov.cn/eng/programmes1/. live.
  6. Web site: 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. 2019-11-29. 20 September 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220920172028/http://cpc.people.com.cn/n/2014/1231/c69113-26308784.html. live.
  7. Book: Agricultural Biotechnology in China: Origins and Prospects. Karplus. Valerie J.. Deng. Xing Wang. 2007-12-17. Springer Science & Business Media. 978-0-387-71138-6. en. 27 November 2021. 5 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240105025917/https://books.google.com/books?id=reUcHRkOwCsC&dq=863+program+10+billion+1986&pg=PA58#v=onepage&q=863%20program%2010%20billion%201986&f=false. live.
  8. Web site: October 2011 . Foreign Spies Stealing US Economic Secrets in Cyberspace: Report to Congress on Foreign Economic Collection and Industrial Espionage, 2009-2011. . January 4, 2024 . . 29 December 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231229191532/https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/Newsroom/Reports%20and%20Pubs/20111103_report_fecie.pdf . live .
  9. Web site: Designing Quad-Core Loongson-3 Processor. english.ict.cas.cn. 2019-11-29. 22 September 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220922074739/http://english.ict.cas.cn/rh/rps/200909/t20090910_36875.html. live.
  10. Web site: Scientific Innovation and China's Military Modernization. thediplomat.com. en-US. 2019-11-29. 3 October 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221003145043/https://thediplomat.com/2013/09/scientific-innovation-and-chinas-military-modernization/. live.
  11. Book: Feigenbaum . Evan A. . China's Techno-warriors: National Security and Strategic Competition from the Nuclear to the Information Age . . 2003 . 978-0-8047-4601-4 . . 141 . 49415750 . 19 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240105025920/https://books.google.com/books?id=8qwNmG9V1aIC&pg=PA141#v=onepage&q&f=false . 5 January 2024 . live.
  12. Web site: National High-tech R&D Program (863 Program) . . 1 April 2015 . 6 January 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230106013128/https://www.most.gov.cn/eng/programmes1/ . live .

    1. Orientation and Objectives, 2. Major Tasks.

  13. News: 2011-12-22 . Chinese scientist Huang Kexue jailed for trade theft . 2024-01-05 . . en-GB . 5 November 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221105220853/http://www.bbc.com/news/business-16297237 . live .
  14. Book: Ke, Yan . Chinas Wissenschaft und Technik . 2005 . 五洲传播出版社 . 978-7-5085-0671-5 . 109 . de . 23 September 2016 . 5 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240105025931/https://books.google.com/books?id=7RVTuysT1rgC . live .

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