Introduction to the 863 Program


Classification:

Corporate News

Author:

Source:

Release time:

2015-07-24

summary: In March 1986, faced with the severe challenge of the booming development of high technology in the world and increasingly fierce international competition, Comrade Deng Xiaoping, based on the proposal of four scientists, Wang Daheng, Wang Ganchang, Yang Jiachi and Chen Fangyun, regarding tracking...

In March 1986, faced with the severe challenges of the booming development of global high technology and increasingly fierce international competition, Comrade Deng Xiaoping made an important instruction on the "Proposal on Tracking the Development of Foreign Strategic High Technologies" put forward by four scientists, Wang Daheng, Wang Ganchang, Yang Jiachi, and Chen Fangyun: "This matter should be decided quickly and should not be delayed." Based on sufficient argumentation, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council made a decisive decision and launched the High-Tech Research and Development Plan, also known as the 863 Plan, in November 1986.

     For more than 20 years, the 863 Plan has always focused on the forefront of global high-tech development. Following the principle of "doing what we should do and not doing what we shouldn't," it has concentrated on important high-tech fields related to the country's long-term development and national security. With the aim of improving China's independent innovation capabilities, it adheres to strategic, cutting-edge, and forward-looking principles, focusing on the research and development of cutting-edge technologies. It comprehensively deploys the integrated application and industrialization demonstration of high technologies, giving full play to the leading role of high technology in future development.

After more than 20 years of implementation, the 863 Plan has laid a solid foundation for the inception, development, and industrialization of high technology in China. From 1986 to 2005, the state invested a total of 33 billion yuan in the 863 Plan. More than 150,000 scientific researchers undertook research tasks under the 863 Plan. Approximately 500 research institutions, more than 300 universities and colleges, and nearly 1,000 enterprises participated in the research and development work of the 863 Plan. According to incomplete statistics, in the past 20 years, the 863 Plan has published more than 120,000 papers, obtained more than 8,000 domestic and international patents, and formulated more than 1,800 national and industry standards. Through continuous independent innovation, the 863 Plan has achieved a large number of innovative results that have reached or approached the world's advanced level. Specifically, it has established a presence in areas such as high-performance computers, third-generation mobile communications, high-speed information networks, deep-sea and industrial robots, space-based observation systems, marine observation and detection, new generation nuclear reactors, super hybrid rice, insect-resistant cotton, and genetic engineering. It emphasizes the integrated innovation of high technology and the cultivation of strategic emerging industries. In the hot areas of international high-tech competition, such as bioengineering drugs, communication equipment, high-performance computers, Chinese information processing platforms, artificial crystals, and optoelectronic materials and devices, it has successfully developed a batch of products with independent intellectual property rights, forming growth points for China's high-tech industries. At the same time, focusing on the needs of national defense modernization, it has developed new strategic deterrent means and new concept "trump card" equipment, achieving outstanding results. Currently, the 863 Plan has become a banner for the development of science and technology in China, especially for the development of high-tech research. More importantly, the achievements of the 863 Plan have played an important role in enhancing China's independent innovation capabilities, improving its comprehensive national strength, and strengthening national self-confidence.