Chinese Science and Technology Minister Xu Guanhua said in Beijing Sunday that Chinese scientists have made outstanding innovations, which have attracted the attention of their international counterparts.

Xu made the remarks at a national work conference on science and technology.

Chinese scientists performed well in photoelectric materials, nano technology, nosogenetic genome research, cerebral science and paleontology, he said.

They have made breakthroughs on new materials, origin of vertebrate animals, new types of nuclear reactors, genetic therapy, super hybrid rice and a high-performance server with a peak computing rate of five trillion times per second, the minister said.

Xu also said the state has invested more than 20 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion) into key scientific and technological projects. Participants in those projects have already applied for over 600 patents and 50 technical standards.

The innovations resulting from those key projects included a new generation of net computer, based on the Chinese-designed CPU chips and Linux operating system, electric automobile know-how, bio-chips for medical use and transplant technology of cow embryo, Xu said.

In agriculture, Chinese scientists focused on cultivating 363 new species and developing water-saving farming technology. The state invested 800 million yuan (US$97 million) into agricultural scientific advancement, the minister said.

In industry, China has developed a high-end computerized machine tool, which virtually broke the embargo on high technologies by some developed countries, Xu said.

In social development, he said, Chinese scientists made progress in research on clean energy use, recycled energies, environmental protection and water quality improvement.

(Xinhua News Agency February 22, 2004)