China

China has emerged as one of the world's largest performers of research in nanotechnology. Multiple efforts are also under way in China to stimulate the development of companies and products that use nanotechnology. The Chinese government has matched initiatives in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere to prioritize nanotechnology development and, in recent years, has allocated increasing levels of funding to the field. The 2007 Lux Report estimates Chinese government investment in nanotechnology research and development (R&D) at $220 million in 2006. This is equivalent to $0.9 billion when adjusted for purchasing power differences, placing China second after the United States, and ahead of Japan in governmental R&D investment in nanotechnology.

China is not a latecomer to nanotechnology; indeed, attempts to promote nanotechnology research began in the late-1980s, leading to the 10-year “Climbing-Up” project initiated in 1990 to spur nanometer science. Since then, a series of policies and programs have been enacted to spur nanotechnology R&D. Policy instruments have included expanding funds for nanotechnology education and research, providing premiums to attract overseas Chinese scientists to return home, and sponsoring international nanotechnology conferences and relationships. A high-level advisory group, the National Steering Committee for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (NSCNN), was established in 2000 to coordinate China's nanotechnology activities. Led by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), the NSCNN also has members from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE).

In July 2001, MOST, NDRC, MOE, CAS, and NSFC jointly announced the National Development Plan for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (2001–10). This plan focused attention to the development of nanomaterials in the short term and to the areas of nanobiotechnology and medicine, nanoelectronics and nanodevices for the medium and long terms. The plan also called for the establishment of nanotechnology R&D centers and industrialization bases. In two national technology development strategies released in 2006, the Medium- and Long-Term National Plan for S&T Development and the National S&T Development Plan for the 11th Five-Year Period, nanotechnology continues to be highlighted as a national priority.

NSFC and MOST are the major funders of China nanotechnology research. NSFC, an equivalent of the U.S. National Science Foundation, supports basic and exploratory research. Since the 1990s, NSFC has sponsored over 1,000 projects in nanotechnology-related fields. For example, the Nanotechnology Basic Research Program provides additional grants to scientists for interdisciplinary nanotechnology basic research. MOST emphasizes research with an engineering and applied orientation. In addition to the “Climbing-Up” project on nanometer science, MOST also sponsors nanotechnology research under the National High Technology R&D Program (863 Program).