identifying innovation objectives, readjusting organizational structures, transforming operational mechanisms and attracting excellent talents. To establish the national innovation system is a major decision by the Central Government to promote scientific and technological advancement and innovation, and to highlight the role of science and technology as the primary productive force. This is a major strategy concerning the future of the Chinese nation. It is expected that the nation's scientists and technologists will further free their mind, deepen reform, enhance innovation in basic, strategic and frontier areas, and foster more human resources to better implement the Pilot Project of the Knowledge Innovation Program.

Zhu promised that the State Council and the State Leading Group of Science, Technology and Education would continue to support KIP, and asked the Academy to continue its efforts in carrying out the program. Zhu asked CAS to:

1. Build mechanisms to attract more outstanding talents;
2. Create mechanisms to give free rein to the abilities of talents; and
3. Strengthen international cooperation and links with domestic industries.

Vice Premier Li Lanqing inspected the Life Sciences Park, the Institute of Remote Sensing Applications, the Institute of Physics and the Beijing Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science. During the inspection, Li pointed out that the Pilot Project of the Knowledge Innovation Program (KIP) has achieved significant progress and notable results. In the process of the nation's economic development and social progress, science and technology have become the most active impetus. It is expected that KIP will have a positive influence on the creation of a science management system with Chinese characteristics, on the promotion of China’s scientific undertaking and on the overall development of the economy and society, as well as on the development of the Academy itself.

Li stressed that one of the Government's important responsibilities is to provide effective support and a favorable environment for the advancement of science and technology. To this end, government leaders at various levels should, first of all, upgrade their knowledge and attach great importance to innovation. They should further increase funding of R & D to improve infrastructure facilities, which is essential for the development of science and technology. Secondly, policies should be improved to support further implementation of reform in research institutions, to establish a better personnel management system and payment system, an assessment system and internal operational mechanisms that are conducive to attracting more outstanding scientists with promising careers and better benefits. Thirdly, logistics services should be strengthened to create a better environment for research, and more efforts be invested to develop a cultural environment favorable to exploration and innovation. And lastly, legislation should be strengthened to protect intellectual property rights and encourage scientific and technological creativeness.

The CAS is planning to invest 1.5 billion yuan in reconstruction projects of its institutes in Beijing and Shanghai and building of apartments for mobile staff, with a view to improving the "hardware" environment for scientific and technological innovation. The face-lift of the office building of the Beijing Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science is the first infrastructure project launched, with a total investment of approximately RMB 30 million. In the new building, each research fellow is allocated an independent office equipped with a high-performance computer, advanced networking and an interface for a programmed telephone. According to CAS President Lu Yongxiang, the Pilot Project of the Knowledge Innovation Program will proceed from the initial to the full-fledged phase next year. The improvement of the hardware environment will pave the way for the realization of the Academy's innovation goals.

Since the launching of the Forum, it has helped further enhance the awareness of strategic issues and national conditions of China for senior managerial leaders and experts, and has promoted a precise understanding of the trends of China's social and economic development and the frontiers of world science and technology. The Forum has also aroused much echo among the public and the media

The CAS Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology has been formally launched on the basis of the former Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and the former Shanghai Institute of Entomology. At the same time, the Laboratory of Molecular Ecology, which integrates of plant physiology, entomology, microbiology and molecular genetics, was established. The Laboratory has defined plant physiology and ecology as its major areas. The Institute will further promote the intercrossing of various disciplines and identify major scientific objectives through deliberate selection in compliance with the guideline of "following the path of innovation and establishing a first-rate institute" and in accordance with the major requirements regarding China’s agricultural development and eco-environment protection.

On 30^th October, 2000, the CAS announced in Beijing the establishment of the Nano-Science and Technology Center (http://www.casnano.net.cn), which is the largest research and development center of nano-technology in China. The Center comprises of a research entity and a nano-tech network station. At the same time, the Academy has input 25 million yuan to launch a major project of nano science and technology, which will operate within the framework of its Pilot Project of the Knowledge Innovation Program and attract resources from eleven institutes in the Academy.

A nano-copper thread as thin as a hair, cold-rolled at room temperature, can extend from 1 cm to 1 m and its thickness can be reduced to 20 micrometers from 1 millimeter. A research team from CAS discovered this special property of nano- metal – super-plastic ductility, marking a breakthrough in the study of nano materials. The discovery has been published in the authoritative magazine Science and has received widespread praise. The German scientist H. Gleiter, authority of nano materials, deemed the research a "breakthrough" in the field. By using a new technique, Dr. Lu Ke, a researcher and his group in the Institute of Metals Research, have synthesized high density, highly pure nano copper. They further discovered that at room temperature the shape of nano copper changes more than 50 times without any cracks. Experts disclosed that this discovery has narrowed the gap between research of nano materials and their practical use. It is of great value to sophisticated processing, electronic instruments, and micro-machines.

It is also learned that Dr. Mohamed H. A. Hassan, Secretary General of the Third World Network of Scientific Organization (TWNSO), has informed Dr. Lu Ke that the TWNSO Executive Board has decided to award him the 2000 TWNSO Prize in Technology.

As a center of excellence, the CAS Institute of Solid State Physics (based in Hefei) has long been in charge of the national program of nano-science, nano materials and nanometer structures. They have scored a large number of scientific achievements in the preparation, and research of the spectral characteristics and microstructure of nano materials. In order to convert these into productivity and serve the nation's economic construction, the Institute organized a group of scientists to develop the applications of nano materials with satisfactory results of both economic and social benefit. By now, four cooperative protocols have been signed with other institutions, bringing the Institute financial yields of 3 million yuan, and another two are under negotiation.

Good news is reported from the Institute of Mechanics of CAS that the first elliptic photomicrographer has been produced by a young research professor, Dr. Jin Gang. This device can conduct nanometer measurements and observe dynamic changes of biological molecules in real time. Experts say that the achievement is state-of-the-art. According to Dr. Jin Gang, the elliptic photomicrographer is also called an ellipsometric-biosensor. The device can be considered another type of human vision extension besides the microscope, the electronic microscope and the tunnel scanning probe microscope.

Using the device, people can observe different kinds of biologic mono-molecular film. The observed molecular film of G immune protein of the human body is only 3.5 nanometers thick, about one ten thousandth the thickness of human skin. Real time observation can be achieved when the film changes due to the reaction of pairing biological molecules. Operation of the device is simple and safe.

A superconducting experiment station, the largest in China, was set up in the Institute of Plasma Physics in the process of constructing the Tokamak device HT-7U, the mega-science project of the nation's Ninth Five-Year Plan. Before long the whole system will be commissioned and super-conductive magnet experiments will be carried out. The station is set up for performance testing of a large number of super-conductive magnets on HT-7U. It consists of a testing Dewar vessel, a cryogenic system, vacuum system, power supply, data-collection system and control system, among which the testing Dewar vessel, weighing 16 tons and measuring 48 cubic meters, is the largest in the country. The cryogenic liquid helium system can provide 150 liters of liquid helium per hour, the data-collection system can collect several hundred channels of signals, and the power system can supply 80 kw. The station is capable of carrying out tests of cryogenic, electromagnetic, pyrological and hydrological performance of magnets on the HT-7U, so that the quality of superconducting magnets can be guaranteed. It can provide other institutions with similar service.

The Urumqi Ion-Beam Bio-Engineering Center (IBC), established on the basis of the knowledge and technology provided by the Institute of Plasma Physics, CAS, based in Hefei, has recently achieved important advances. Since the establishment of the Urumqi Ion-Beam Bio-Engineering Center of the Xinjiang College of Engineering, important results have been achieved on lettuce, beet, tomato, cotton and other crops. The content of sugar in beet has been increased by 40%. The rate of tomato fructification has also been improved substantially. Unusual mutation in lettuce has been observed. Research on the fermentation of molasses and orange haulm using ion-beam biotechnology has been conducted with preliminary results.

The 21^st Meeting of the PRC/U.S. Joint Committee on High Energy Physics was held in Beijing from October 17 to 18, 2000. CAS President Lu Yongxiang attended this meeting as head of the Chinese delegation. The Committee reviewed the progress and current status of the Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPC), the Beijing Spectrometer (BES), the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility (BSRF) and the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF). The Committee was gratified to note that BEPC, BES and BSRF were in good operation.

The Committee also heard the introductions by Chinese delegates Chen Hesheng and Zhang Chuang on the preliminary design of the BEPC II project and the accelerator design including physics goals, the designed parameters of the accelerator and detector, the basic design and the key technologies, and then discussed the possible items where the U.S. side could collaborate with the Chinese side. A lot of important physics experiments could be done with BEPC II and it is expected that many significant charm physics results would be achieved, and the U.S. side expressed the willingness to cooperate with and help the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) in building BEPC II.

The PRC/U.S. Cooperative Program for the next year was signed which contains 34 collaborative items. BEPC II is the second important collaborative item following the Beijing Electron Positron Collider, marking the beginning of a new stage of PRC/U.S. collaboration in high energy physics.

Chinese delegate Xu Hongjie briefed the Committee on the progress of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility. The Committee spoke highly of its progress. The American delegates held that only when the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility is built up can the users’ group be developed. All synchrotron radiation light sources in the world have become centers for frontier studies of multidisciplinary subjects. It is hoped that the construction of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility should be started as early as possible.

The Max-Planck Botany Partnership Laboratory, a research group on molecular physiology and signal transmission, has been founded in Shanghai. Xu Zhihong, Vice President of CAS and Willmitzer, Director of the Institute of Plant Physiology of the Max-Planck Society, both attended the launching ceremony held at the State Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology. The Partnership Laboratory is the third CAS-MPS joint laboratory after those set up at the CAS Institute of Metals Research and the Shanghai Observatory, and the first CAS-MPS partnership laboratory engaged in biological sciences.