Initiated by the China State Development and Reform Commission, a study, in an attempt to map up the strategic development of China?痵 bioindustry, has recently been completed by a joint team made up of experts from a dozen government agencies and research institutes, including the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Education. Coming up with a conclusion that bioindustrial development is of strategic importance to China, the report asks China to firmly grasp major strategic opportunities in the field of biotechnology and associated industry. Using a strategy to build up the nation with the socalled bioeconomy, China shall turn bioindustry into a new pillar sector, featured with large scale, high technology content, fast growth, and strong stimulus for other industries, in a timeframe of 10 to 15 years. The report expects China to work out proprietary products in the strategic fields of biotechnology, forming a basic capacity to develop core technologies, and an independent innovation capability for upgrading its bioindustry. According to the report, China shall be enabled to produce major biotechnology products to meet basic domestic demands, and nurture out a number of modern biotech enterprises of international competitiveness and internationalized operations.

The report states that the development of China?痵 bioindustry shall be paralleled with the development of three major systems, covering fund raising, innovation, and legislation aspects. At the same time, China shall work on three major projects concerning health, biofarming, and innovative spin-offs, placing priorities on six priority industrial fields, including bioagriculture, biomedicine, biomanufacturing, bioenergy, bioenvironment, and bioservice. China also expects to establish a number of bioindustry bases, and organize the implementation of nine major special projects, including high yield biobreeding, medicines for treating major diseases, Chinese traditional medicines, and green biomanufacturing. The report puts forward a line of policy proposals in the context of promoting the development of bioindustry.