Defense industry emphasizes civilian production (Xinhua) Updated: 2004-12-27 10:13
The output value of civilian products accounted for more than 65 percent of
the total output value of China's defense-related science, technology and
industry in 2003, says a government white paper issued here Monday.
"China has made remarkable progress in putting military industrial technology
to civil use in the past two years. In 2003, the output value of civilian
products rose by 20 percent as compared with that of the previous year," says
the white paper on China's national defense in 2004, released by the Information
Office of China's State Council.
The white paper gives a briefing of the latest developments of the industry
in the construction of nuclear power plants, space technologies for civil use,
research and production of civilian aircraft and ships.
Nuclear power production is being industrialized. China's mainland now has
nine nuclear power generating sets in operation, the total installed capacity of
which is 7.01 million KW. Another two, each with an installed capacity of 1.06
million KW, are now under construction.
In 2003, China's nuclear power production was 43.3 billion KWH, accounting
for 2.3 percent of its total power production. Steady progress has been made in
the construction of auxiliary projects for nuclear energy. A nuclear fuel
production system tailored to nuclear power production has by and large taken
shape, and the production of nuclear fuel has been technologically upgraded.
Major breakthroughs have been made in space technologies for civil use. Since
October 1996, China has succeeded in 41 space launches. The successful launching
of the "Shenzhou 5" spaceship in October 2003 sent China's first astronaut into
space. The key technological problems for the new generation of carrier rockets
have been tackled.
China has successfully launched various application satellites, including SSO
(Sun Synchronous Orbit) and GEO (Geostationary Orbit) meteorological satellites,
the HY-1 oceanographic satellite and CBERS (China-Brazil Earth Resource
Satellite). The R&D of a DMEC ( Disaster Monitoring and Environmental
Control) satellite constellation, a large GEO satellite platform and a new
generation of SSO meteorological satellites is going on smoothly.
A lunar probe project was officially started in January 2004, and a lunar
orbiting exploration is scheduled to be carried out by the end of 2007.
The aviation industry for civil use has made important headway in the R&D
of feeder liners and general-purpose aircraft. ARJ21, a new jet feeder liner
with 70 seats, is being independently developed, and is scheduled for delivery
in 2008. The Y-12E general-purpose aircraft for use in high-temperature and
plateau conditions and the Z-11 and Z-9 helicopters have all received
airworthiness certificates and been put on the commercial market. The newly
developed "Xiaoying 500" general-purpose plane made its first flight in 2003.
The ERJ145 jet feeder liner jointly manufactured by China and Brazil has been
delivered to users. An agreement has been formally signed on the building of an
assembly line in China for the EC120 helicopter jointly developed by China,
France and Singapore. Subcontracting business for the manufacture of foreign
aircraft parts has been developing steadily, and begun to be integrated into the
large-scale circulation system of the international aviation industry.
The shipbuilding industry for civil use has witnessed sustained rapid growth,
with an output ranking third in the world for many years. In 2003, China's
accomplished shipbuilding output, newly received orders and on-hand orders
amounted to 6.41 million DWT, 18.95 million DWT and 26.23 million DWT
respectively, accounting for a world market share of 11.8 percent, 18.9 percent
and 17.7 percent respectively.
Products manufactured by the shipbuilding industry for civil use have been
exported to more than 90 countries and regions. The R&D and designing
capability of the shipbuilding industry for civil use has been remarkably
raised. It can now build and repair large ships, and has made new breakthroughs
in building high-tech ships.
