There are now over 23,000 standards in effect in the defense industry, providing strong support to the sector, said Sun Laiyan, vice minister of the Commission of Science, Technology and industry for National Defense, on Thursday.

Standardization has promoted the integration of advanced technology in both military and civilian fields, the official told the Forum on China's Standardization of Defense Industry.

Nuclear power and the civilian aerospace and ship-building industries are the main users of advanced technology that can also be used by the military, according to the vice minister.

For example, China has issued more than 400 specific standards for the nuclear power industry, which could meet demand for building second-generation nuclear power plants.

Nuclear standards have evolved in phases. Between the 1950s and the early 1960s, China directly followed Soviet standards in its nuclear power industry. Between the early 1960s and the late 1970s, China only referred to Soviet standards. Between the 1980s and the end of the 20th century, China made its own standards with reference to overseas standards.

Now, China has entered the fourth stage, under which it standardizes its defense industry. In this fourth stage, China is trying to make the defense industry coordinated to serve military and civil purposes.

China's current strategy on standardization of the defense industry is to increase self-reliance and innovation, build up a more open system of standards by making full use of domestic and overseas resources, and work on standards for managerial use.

The forum's theme is "guiding the development of the (defense) industry by promoting the integration of military and civil technology."

(Xinhua News Agency November 23, 2007)