1.          Introduction.    China’s rapid development in nanotechnology was influenced by the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) by the US and paved the way for massive research in this field. The aim of this paper is to study factors contributing to China’s advances in the field of nanotechnology.

2.         Role of Government.  Nanotechnology was first mentioned in the 863 Plan (State High-Tech Development Plan) and 973 Plan (National Basic Research Program) of the Chinese government.  Thereafter the 10^th Five-year plan mentioned the commercialisation and development of nanotechnology apart from research funding.  The 11^th Five-year plan focused on commercializing the technology of 90-nanometer (technology used for semiconductor).  The Medium-to-Long Term Plan (2006-2020) addressed the development of nano-materials, nano-drug carriers etc.

3.         The Chinese government’s efforts to make nanotechnology an area to surpass other countries encouraged Chinese institutes like Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (NSFC) to start the research into nanotechnology with SPM (Scanning Probe Microscopy) at nanometer scale.  The National Steering Committee for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (NSCNN) was established in 2000 to overlook the development of nanotechnology in China and subsequently, in 2001, China established the National Nanotechnology Guidance and Coordination Committee and issued the "National Nanotechnology Development Program (2001-2010) (Qiu, 2016).

4.         In 2003 the National Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology was started by CAS in collaboration with Beijing University and Tsinghua University.  CAS’s collaboration with the US specifically helped China in building a strong base in the R & D of nanotechnology.  China also has the world’s top 33 institutes involved in nanotech research.  Furthermore, in order to bolster China’s dominance in nanotechnology CAS has also set up research institutes with South Korea, Brazil, Israel etc.  China’s contribution to research papers on nanotechnology has been huge with Chinese origin papers increasing from 2,826 in 1997 to 74,387 in 2019 (23,999 papers were of US origin).

5.         Role of Private Companies.   Though they made a late entry, private companies have also involved in the development and commercialisation of nanotechnology in China primarily due to the efforts made by the government (Qiu, 2016).  These nanotech startups came up post the government's interest in nanotechnology.  For example, Nanopolis in Suzhou is China’s biggest nanotech centre focused on commercializing nanotechnology.  Suzhou also houses China’s Nano X Research Facility which is one the largest multifunctional research platform and it has received an initial funding of USD 46.5 mn (China building world's largest nano research facility, 2017).  Alibaba and Tencent are also involved in the development of nanotechnology with Tencent also funding China’s first private university called Westlake University where the main area of research is nanotechnology.

6.         Areas Where Nanotechnology is Being Used.           One of the major areas where China is using nanotechnology is the development of lithium-ion batteries which will be used in electrical cars.  Apart from this nanotech has entered fields like green printing, water purification, medicine, food and agriculture, energy etc.  China is also combining nanotech with other emerging technologies such as AI, Quantum, Robotics etc. to help advance China’s position in these fields.  For example, Chinese researchers are developing nano-structured quantum devices and quantum nano-microscopy technology which can improve quantum probe efficiency (htt).  The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is using nanotechnology to repair damaged planes, developing nano-knife technology to tackle tumors, researching on how nano-materials can play an important role in bio-safety, developing nano-hemostasis technology, nano-robots and also developing nano antibacterial materials for military equipment.  China’s future focus under nanotechnology will be in areas like biomedical science, energy, catalysis, and catalytic nano-materials etc. (Gerstner).

7.         Conclusion.     China’s advances in nanotechnology and its subsequent desire to set standards in this field will propel China into the international stage whereby it will try to create markets and research zones to emerge as the leader in the field.

(The Views expressed are that of the author and do not reflect official views.)

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Qiu, J. (2016). Nanotechnology development in China: Challenges and Opportunities. National Science Review, Volume 3, Issue 1 , 148-152.