National Academies Press: OpenBook

Biotechnology in China (1989)

Chapter: 10. Conclusions and Recommendations

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Suggested Citation:"10. Conclusions and Recommendations." National Academy of Sciences. 1989. Biotechnology in China. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2074.
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Suggested Citation:"10. Conclusions and Recommendations." National Academy of Sciences. 1989. Biotechnology in China. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2074.
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Page 76
Suggested Citation:"10. Conclusions and Recommendations." National Academy of Sciences. 1989. Biotechnology in China. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2074.
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Page 77
Suggested Citation:"10. Conclusions and Recommendations." National Academy of Sciences. 1989. Biotechnology in China. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2074.
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Page 78
Suggested Citation:"10. Conclusions and Recommendations." National Academy of Sciences. 1989. Biotechnology in China. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2074.
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Page 79
Suggested Citation:"10. Conclusions and Recommendations." National Academy of Sciences. 1989. Biotechnology in China. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2074.
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Page 80

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10 Conclusions and Recommendations In the past 10 years, and particularly since 1986, China has made great progress in developing the capacity for biotechnology research, which will lead eventually to its application and commercialization. Funding has been increased to an absolute level greater than that in any other developing country and to a relative level (adjusted for gross national product) that compares favorably with those in many developed countries. A competitive granting system that includes peer review has been established to allocate these funds. New laboratories have been built and equipped with modern instruments. A substantial number of research groups routinely use sophisticated technologies ranging from DNA cloning to x-ray crystallography. Large numbers of scientists have been sent abroad for advanced training, and many of them have returned to China. Scientific productivity, as judged by the number of articles and journals published and the number of scientists actually engaged in research, is on the rise. Despite these advances, China's level of biotechnology research and development remains far below that in developed countries. In basic research, Chinese scientists operate at an international level in only a few scattered areas. Genetics, first undermined by Lysenkoism, then stalled—as was most science— by the Cultural Revolution, is now too often bypassed in favor of applied genetics like gene cloning. The literature survey revealed a paucity of developmental biology papers, which indicates a bias against using biotechnology to advance understanding of the basic knowledge of genetic expression and regulation that governs organisms' development. In applied research, the majority of projects are derivative or outright imitations of Western investigations. For example, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 75

more than one-half of the applied genetics research articles surveyed described the cloning of genes already sequenced and published in international journals. The Chinese government's insistence on funding research of such low originality has led to a large and lamentable waste of rare resources. How, then, can China ensure that recent improvements in biotechnology funding and support ultimately translate into improved research and technology? Although most of the suggestions below are neither novel nor surprising, they are sufficiently important and useful to bear mentioning. • Policymakers should recognize that the precepts for innovative and productive molecular biology applications are dependent on a sound understanding of and training in the sciences of genetics and molecular biology. Educational and institutional reforms should be supported to bolster training in the basic sciences of biotechnology. • A better balance between basic and applied research should be sought. The best basic projects should be supported by large grants; conversely, bad or derivative projects should not be funded solely because they are applied. This could be accomplished by setting aside a certain percentage of High Technology Program or Seventh 5-Year Plan funds for basic research or by giving NSFC a separate budget for large basic grants. • Administrators should realize that support of biotechnology represents a long-term investment and should not expect research units to become self- supporting. Even in the United States, where more than $3 billion is spent annually on biotechnology, few biotechnology companies operate at a profit. Early withdrawal of support will result in wasted time and money. • Downstream processing facilities should be subject to accountability and progress assessment as conditions for financial support. Large capital expenditure plans should be based on definite product identification. Budget allocations to facilities lacking these considerations would be better spent on the continued support and enlargement of key laboratories at centers that have a demonstrated capacity for high-level research. • The procurement system needs to be reformed to ensure that scientists have a flexible and reliable supply of the materials necessary to pursue research efficiently. In this context, giving scientists direct control over their grant funds should be considered. • Continued international cooperation at the governmental, academic, and commercial levels should be encouraged. • The development of joint and Chinese ventures to produce biotechnology reagents should be continued and expanded. • The protection of intellectual property rights should be improved to encourage foreign investment. • Safeguards against scientific fraud should be instituted. • Chinese scientists should take greater advantage of the accessibility of most CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 76

materials published in international journals, particularly DNA clones and cell lines. This would prevent much duplication of effort. • The offering of special inducements to students and scientists returning from abroad should be continued and expanded. • Certain measures concerning the return of students and scientists are counterproductive and should be eliminated. These include the restriction against leaving China for 2 to 3 years after completing a B.S. or M.S. degree, a period of the greatest creativity and productivity for many young scientists; the attempt to limit postdoctoral fellowships abroad to 1 year, a period too short to accomplish much work of significance; and joint Ph.D. programs (which involve coursework in China and limited subsequent research abroad) that allow students to learn techniques without understanding their scientific bases. What are the pros and cons of the United States providing further support for biotechnology in China? On the positive side, China has a rich flora and fauna and a long history of traditional medicines that may eventually provide useful resources for American biologists and biotechnology entrepreneurs. China also represents a potentially huge market for biotechnology products, produced either with licensed technology or through joint ventures. But perhaps the most important consideration is also the simplest: China has a population of over one billion, nearly one-fifth of the global population, and it is a developing country. For these reasons, China is an important test case for the successful application of biotechnology to meeting economic development goals and basic human needs in developing countries. In this crucial way, Chinese biotechnology goals can and should diverge from those of developed countries. On the negative side is the unfortunate conclusion of this report, namely, that the Chinese government has opted to attempt a direct replication of Western biotechnology rather than to support the basic, innovative research that is essential to tailor biotechnology to China's needs as a developing country. Because of the lack of emphasis on basic research, China is at risk of developing a cadre of highly trained, technically competent scientists who understand the mechanics of biotechnology, but not the underlying science or the road ahead. Unless corrected, this deficiency will ensure that Chinese biotechnology will remain an expensive but nonproductive activity—a poor recompense for the great effort and expenditures of the past decade. The root cause of this problem is government policy, in particular, the insistence that science generate earnings, and, moreover, do it in short order. In the past few years, many Americans have been lulled into thinking that China is becoming progressively less ideological and political. In fact, today's idea of "serving the economy" is no less rigorously pursued than was the idea of "serving the people" during the antirightist campaigns and the Cultural Revolution. Within this context, how can the United States help to improve Chinese biotechnology and related research to the ultimate benefit of both China and CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 77

itself? Below are listed several ideas for both government-sponsored and individual activities. • Funds should be sought to continue combined laboratory and lecture minicourses such as the ones cosponsored by CSCPRC and CAS. They represent a unique opportunity to introduce Chinese scientists to both the technologies and philosophy of modern biological science, particularly in areas that are weak in China, such as gene regulation and developmental biology. It is essential that they be held on a continuous basis at a dedicated facility; only then will it be possible to achieve the goal of full Chinese participation in teaching these courses. • A low-cost but potentially productive activity that the CSCPRC should consider would be sponsorship at a U.S. facility in Beijing of a lecture series on the frontiers of biology. Periodically, (one to four times a year) prominent American and Chinese scientists would lecture on the most recent advances in basic and applied biology. A major aim of this program would be to foster contacts and interactions among Chinese scientists who, at present, rarely go outside their own workplace and who often fail to inform "outsiders" of visits by scientists from abroad. American participants could be drawn from the pool of visiting U.S. scientists who pass through Beijing, thereby avoiding any outlay for travel funds. Chinese lecturers could be nominated by Chinese universities, CAS, or various ministries and state commissions. • Appropriate forums should be promoted for science policy discussions among visiting scientists, their Chinese counterparts, and Chinese government and Party officials. Discussions should expand understanding of the factors that determine a sound and productive science research infrastructure and administration. Special efforts should be made to engage senior policy planners in such forums as a way to outline and emphasize ways that government policies help or impede scientific progress. • Additional research on the biological and agricultural resources of China should be conducted. While this report uncovers only a few exciting developments in Chinese biotechnology, it should be remembered that the findings center on modern research technologies that are almost exclusively imported from the West. Inspection of China's more traditional biotechnology areas would be useful, e.g., aquaculture, drought- and cold- resistant fruit varieties, high-nutrition rice varieties, fermentation of farm by-products, and testing of traditional medicines for unexpected activities, e.g., against the AIDS virus. This is a critical period for the development of biotechnology, biology, and all science and technology in China. Some important administrators are now taking the view that enough money has already been spent on biotechnology and that research centers and programs should "sink or swim" on their own. But others take the more farsighted view that China should continue to fund and improve its CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 78

research capacity, especially in the basic sciences, so that when biotechnology finally does realize its potential, China will be well placed to reap its benefits. Regardless of which policy is adopted, American scientists—individually or through governmental, academic, and commercial groups—will have many opportunities to collaborate with their Chinese colleagues to advance biotechnology in China and worldwide. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 79

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 80

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