New techniques of underground coal gasification invented by Prof. Yu Li of China University of Mineral Industries has successfully braved the world challenge of hydrogen making at low cost. He has successfully derived water gas of high heat value and hydrogen from obsolete coal wells. This will help China to utilize its more than 30 -billion-ton waste coal resources buried underground.

China's coal output ranks the first place in the world with coal
accounting for 70% of its total energy consumption. However, coal
recovery rate in this country is only 50%. Now there are 30 billion tons
of coal left in obsolete coal wells with a continuous increase for its
quantity.

To efficiently utilize waste coal resources, Prof. Yu Li worked
painstakingly on the challenge for 14 years and established an
experimental base of underground gasification in Liuzhuang Coal Mine in
Tanshang, the first of its kind in China.

With the application of Prof. Yu's invention, two underground
gasification furnaces located in Liu Zhuang Coal Mine were put into
operation in May and June of 1996 respectively. So far they have kept
running for 18 months. By November 20, 1997, it had cumulatively produced
38.463 million cubic meters of air-gas with its heat value reaching 1100-
1500 kilocalorie per cubic meter.

Up to date, the experimental base has witnessed 120 experiments on
producing water gas with a total output of 517,000 cubic meters. It is
able to produce water gas for 12 consecutive hours with its heat value
amounting to 3,000 kilocalorie per cubic meter and hydrogen content 63.6
to 71.9%, ranking advanced in the world. The said technique has been
listed in China's 9th Five-Year Plan for clean Coal and its Associated
Development Outlines Through to 2010.

As estimated by Prof. Yu on a preliminary basis, a ton of coal may
produce 1,300 to 1,500 cubic meters of hydrogen at a low cost of RMB 0.5
yuan per cubic meter. At the present stage, the cost of extracting
hydrogen by other techniques will be around RMB 1.5 to 3 yuan. If sold
only at RMB 3 yuan, the value of one ton of coal may increase to RMB 3000
to 4,000 yuan from its 200 yuan base.

Thanks to nearly 4-year research joint efforts by researchers from 16
different organizations, the research on several locus gene structures of
Chinese genomes, a major project listed in the 8th five year plan of the
National Natural Science Foundation has produced a number of important
results.

Human genome is a basic research topic in the field of life science with
its target aiming at working out the sequences of 3 billion DNA base
pairs of human genomes and then locating and separating nearly 100,000
human genes. This will provide basic data on systematic understanding of
the mysteries of genesis, development, decay, death and diseases of human
beings.

China is rich in resources for participating international research on
human genomes as it has 22% of the world total population with 56
different nationalities. The research on several locus gene structures of
Chinese genomes is mainly composed of three parts: 1)conservation of
several nationalities of representation and ethnic groups in danger in
the form of forever-living cell lines and establish genome resource bank
of Chinese nationality; 2) establish and improve new technologies related
to human genome research; and 3) research on the basic structures and
functions of gene locus closely associated with human diseases.

It is reported that the project has been completed with a number of
important results on its expected objectives: conserved valuable Chinese
genome resources and conducted comparison studies of genome diversities
of multi-nationalities in China by establishing 733 forever-living cell
lines of Han populations dwelling in both south and north and 12 ethnic
groups scattered in southwest and northeast regions; studied the
separation, structures and functions of diseases-causing genes by cloning
a number of diseases-causing genes including leukemia and harvested some
discoveries in the relevant studies.

In addition, the project has enjoyed collaboration of a group of
excellent domestic research teams through which a preliminary cooperative
mechanism on genome research was established. A number of sample
collection bases and research centers were established. They are now
capable of conducting gene diversity research, locating, cloning of
prone-diseases genes and making extensive DNA sequences on their own. All
these efforts have laid a solid foundation for the further research of
Chinese genomes.

Late November witnessed a major breakthrough in the research of
oxygen-silver tin contact materials by China Science and Technology
University of National Defense.

With firm support from Guangdong Fuoshan Sophisticated Electric Alloy
Corp. Ltd., experts of China Science and Technology University of
National Defense kicked off their painstaking systematic research on
oxygen-silver tin contact materials five years ago. Thanks to their
tireless efforts, they have worked out the theory and techniques,
proposed a rational mathematical model on material designing, the first
of its kind in the world and optimize the mixture of materials.

The successful development of processing and manufacturing techniques of
oxygen-silver tin contact materials has made the physical and mechanic
properties of the materials rank advanced in the world. Granted with
Chinese invention patent right, it has been successfully applied to
different types of switches and electric relays. The switch system made
of the said materials has passed international quality verification,
which facilitates the export of Chinese electronic gears.

China's first large standard intelligent network: the advanced CIN system
has reached its designed requirement since its coming into operation on
the military network of Beijing Garrison early this year. Authoritative
experts announced, the successful application of the system has ended up
the history of no Chinese standard CIN facilities in China's domestic
telecommunication market and changed China's passive importation of
similar facilities only from abroad.

The advanced CIN system developed on the basis of Chinese made HJD04
switching system is a priority among the priorities defined by the State
Science and Technology Commission in its 9th five year plan. The system
is jointly designed and developed by National Center of Digital Switching
System Engineering Technology and Research of Julong Corporation,
National Key Lab of Programmed Switching and Telecommunication Network of
Beijing Post And Telecommunication University and National Computer
Research Center subordinated to the Institute of Computation, Chinese
Academy of Sciences. The development of the said system was supported by
the national 863 Program and financed by dedicated funds for addressing
key scientific and technological problems.

As briefed by Prof. Wu Jiangxin, Director of National Center of Digital
Switching System Engineering Technology and Research, the advanced CIN
system is developed on the basis of No. 7 signaling system with SCP as
its core and AIN as reference. It is so designed that it can fit into any
places in the nation's intelligent network project. The system is made in
international standards (able to provide the entire system of CIN) but is
also able to be interfaced with intelligent network systems in 7
international standards such as ACC and FPH produced by other domestic or
overseas manufactures. Other new functions as required by users may also
automatically be derived. All of its functions can be interfaced with
both national network and international intelligent network and it enjoys
more advantages than the similar overseas products in function and price.

It is reported that the system has been successfully applied and operated
in the networks of Tianshui of Gansu Province and Zhengzhou of Henan
Province respectively.

With the support of State Planning Commission and State Science and
Technology Commission, State Drug Administration established a new drug
research fund in 1987 and then established the Management Center of New
Drug Research under the jurisdiction of State Drug Administration. In the
last decade, the central authorities has invested RMB 50 million yuan in
the fund which had in turn financed 382 research projects. With the
practice of the operational mode tailored to Chinese own situation:
"Rolling financing and managing the whole process", so far 11 projects
have been granted with new drug certificates and license numbers, of
which 6 patented new drugs have been sold in market and produced direct
economic benefits of about RMB 100 million yuan. The value of new drug
products are expected to reach RMB 2 billion yuan in five years. At
present, 15 projects being screened by clinic research with 20 other
projects completed with their pre-clinic research. Ten-year hard work
have brought about bumper harvest. A great number of new drug projects
financed by the fund has been granted with domestic or international
awards or honors such as dizziness resistant drug granted with national
invention award and outstanding invention award by WOIP and patent right
in China, US, Japan, UK, France and Italy respectively.

The past decade has witnessed more than 27,000 researchers financed by
the new drug fund. They have constituted a high level and quality team of
China's new drug research.

China applauds its recent progress in bio-fertilizer research. Thanks to
its five-year hard work, Beijing Shiji Amus Bio-tech Corp. Ltd. has been
granted with the certificates issued by national authorities for its five
products.

Beijing Shiji Amus Bio-tech Corp, a Chinese and foreign funded joint
venture, through absorbing experience of bio-fertilizer making in the
country for the last 50 years and based on the principle of micro ecology
of roots and soil and plant nutrition theory, has successfully developed
Amus bio-fertilizer with application of internationally advanced active
mycelium and made them a representation of China's bio-fertilizer
development. The products are new types of compound bio-fertilizers and
able to turn nitrogen in the air and phosphorous and potassium in the
soil that cannot be directly absorbed by plants into absorbable
nutrients. Rich in organic matters and trace elements, the fertilizers
are of the characteristics of no pollution, no public hazards, long
effect, disease resistance, soil improving and yield increasing. During
the period from 1993 to 1996, more than 30 Chinese research institutes
applied the said fertilizers to 34 types of plants over 500,000 mu of
farmland. The results have shown that the bio-fertilizers are able to
raise yield by 11-27% for vegetables and 13-21% for corn and rice and 28%
for cotton respectively.

China will in the next century become the largest information technology
market in the world. It is briefed that at the end of last October,
Chinese computers connected to Internet had increased to 50,000 from
10,000 at the end of 1996 with dial-in computers connected to Internet
reaching 250,000. At present, Internet users in China has reached 600,000
and more in number. China's education and research computer network has
been connected to 200 and more universities with China Science and
Technology Network connecting with 100 institutes. China's Public
Computer Internet Network has covered 31 cities in the country and China
Golden Bridge Information Network has opened its stations in 24
provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. During the 8th and
9th five year plan periods, computer networks have been gradually
connected with each other with the total number of being connected going
beyond 1,000. To promote the healthy development of computer based
information network and Internet, China has recently published its
interim regulations on computer based information network and Internet
and interim management method on registration at Chinese Internet.

The National Environmental Protection Administration of China (Nepa)
opened 70 local projects to overseas investment and technical support
yesterday in Beijing.

The projects, selected out of the 1,591 items listed in the China
Trans-Century Green Project, concentrate mainly in the fields of urban
and industrial waste water treatment, air pollution control and the
disposal of solid wastes.

The 70 projects are going to need a total investment of 15 billion yuan
($1.8 billion), Liu Chunyu, an official with Nepa, said yesterday at an
international Co-operation Conference on Environmental Protection
Projects.

The China Trans-Century Green Project (Phase I, 1996-2000) was mapped out
by Nepa in co-operation with the State Planning Commission and the State
Economic and Trade Commission.

The project promulgated after approval by the State Council last year
sets specific targets for pollution control and environmental protection
in each locality.

If all the 1,591 pollution control projects are completed as required,
China's environmental quality will not be further degraded and may even
improve in some districts by the end of the century.

According to Tang Dingding, division chief in charge of bilateral
co-operation of Nepa, the country needs a total investment of 188 billion
yuan ($ 22 billion) in the 1,591 projects, which includes about $ 4
billion foreign loans and grants.

To date, about half of these projects have started. Some $3 billion has
been invested in support of these projects.

The World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme and countries
like Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia have
provided loans and grants.

To have more overseas investors understand the Chinese environmental
situation and seek expanded co-operation, Nepa organized the First
International Co-operation Conference on the Environmental Protection
Project.

Some 100 overseas delegates from over 20 countries and some global and
regional organizations are attending the two-day meeting to discuss the
possibilities of collaborating with China in the field.

Xie Zhenhua, the Nepa administrator, told the conference that China has
made sustainable development a national strategy during its modernization
construction. And nationwide campaigns have been carried out to protect
the environment and preserve bio-diversity.

Data from Nepa suggest that environmental pollution centered around
cities is still spreading toward the rural areas.Ecological destruction
and degradation is expanding in scope and extent.

Environmental pollution and ecological destruction continue to constrain
the country's overall economic and social development.