Chinese Economy/Development thread (updated regularly)

[Martian2]

NCKU Banyan tree

Taiwan Today

"NCKU team makes ‘nano scissors’ breakthrough

* Publication Date：11/08/2010
* Source： Taiwan Today

A National Cheng Kung University research team has succeeded in using the world’s first “artificial targeting light activated nano scissors,” which it developed, and a custom-made photon device to carry out precision gene surgery that could be applied to cancer therapy in the future.

The team, lead by Shieh Dar-bin, head of the NCKU Medical College’s Institute of Oral Medicine, made the announcement Nov. 5.

Shieh said the team used ATLANS, currently in the clinical trial stage, to successfully switch off three types of drug resistance genes in cultivated cancer cells in laboratory mice.

According to Shieh, under the intracellular gene manipulation method, targeted genes are located, and then precise double-strand cuts are performed on the desired DNA sequences with the molecular-scale scissors.

The process, Shieh explained, is controlled by specific photon energy.

The research findings were published in the September issue of Biomaterials, the leading international journal in the field of biomedical devices. The team is working on patent applications.

Su Wu-chou, director of NCKU Hospital’s Clinical Trial Center, noted that all cancers stem from changes caused by genes. He said practical application of the new ATLANS method to cancer treatment would focus on late stage cancer patients. More work is needed in order to apply the new technology to early stage patients, he added. (SB)"

NCKU campus

NCKU SMART Team Achieved Breakthrough in Precision Gene Surgery through Photonic Manipulation of ATLANS | Business Wire

"NCKU SMART Team Achieved Breakthrough in Precision Gene Surgery through Photonic Manipulation of ATLANS
November 05, 2010 04:45 AM Eastern Time

TAINAN, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A cross-disciplinary Small Medicine and Advanced Research Translation (SMART) team led by Prof. Dar-Bin Shieh of Institute of Oral Medicine in Medical College at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Tainan, Taiwan, has announced a breakthrough in the precision in-cell gene scission at pre-designed sequence sites using Artificial Targeting Light Activated Nano Scissors (ATLANS) and a custom build photonic device.

The research achievement is supported under National Nano Science and Technology Program funded by National Science Council (NSC), Taiwan. This innovative discovery is recently accepted by internationally renowned journal Biomaterials and is currently under patent application.

The nano-enabled novel technology recognize, capture and perform double strand cutting of the desired DNA sequence like restriction endonuclease did but it is completely artificially synthesized and controlled by specific photon energy. In addition, the team successfully shut down target drug resistant gene STAT3 in cancer cell using ATLANS and created a new inspiration toward future cancer gene therapy.

NCKU President Michael Ming-Chiao Lai expressed in the press conference of the ATLANS, “There are many technical difficulties of making modifications to cell genes and treating various diseases. In the past, even though we can enter cells to destroy genes with virus or drugs, we cannot control the genes properly. The ATLANS developed by the research team led by Prof. Dar-Bin Shieh is an innovative method which can target specific genes in the cells and make modifications, thus it is a very significant breakthrough of the clinical research technology.”

Prof. Dar-Bin Shieh pointed out, “Many human diseases such as cancer or genetic diseases are caused by gene mutations. Cancer cell and infectious pathogen may develop drug resistance through activation of certain genes. Therefore, one of the major values of the Artificial Targeting Light Activated Nano Scissor is its ability to identify the target genes in the nucleus and optically-control the precise genetic cutting to block its pathogenic functions, thus reaching treatment effect.”

Prof. Dar-Bin Shieh explained, “The ATLANS is an innovative method and it is also the first time this method is applied for in-cell gene manipulation. This technology uses nanoparticles as a quencher to protect the cutter from non-specific activation at wrong sequence sites and also protect the entire TFO layer from being disrupted by the body before reaching the final destination. Once the genetic targets are locked on, the ATLANS will be activated as the proximity of the photo-cutter is no longer restricted by the particle surface plasma. This precision molecular dynamic control is required during the execution of gene cutting in the atomic level accuracy like a molecular ‘Nano Scissors.’”

With the Nano Scissors technology, Prof. Dar-Bin Shieh’s research team further developed a GeneErasor optical system, which functions to “erase” specific target gene in the culture cell. The gene eraser is anticipated to test-run early next year. The GeneErasor system is currently of blue-ray band. The team has successfully tested a second-generation system in test tube for near-infrared laser-scan activation that performs better tissue penetration for diseases in deep organ system.

Cross-disciplinary medical research has become a global trend. The innovations of the SMART research team led by Prof. Dar-Bin Shieh has set an excellent model of trans-disciplinary and cross-university clinical-oriented research integration and demonstrated advanced niches for medical innovations, integrating the knowledge and experience of organic chemistry, optoelectronic, nano-synthesis, biochemistry, molecular biology and genomic medicine scholars and experts and creating great achievements under the long-term support of Taiwan National Science and Technology Program for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, National Science Council, Taiwan.

Prof. Dar-Bin Shieh believed, “The success of the research achievement is due to the joint effort of the team. National Cheng Kung University has provided an excellent environment, allowing professors with different disciplines from College of Medicine, Center of Excellent for Clinical Trials and Research in Oncology Specialty, College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, College of Engineering, and College of Science to form a research team, find effective solutions to clinical issues and benefit future patients through the combination of medicine and clinic. The University is proposing a new concept to foster clinical and industrial translation of fundamental discovery and engineering power through a partnership network, the Center for Biomedical Excellent and Synergy in Taiwan (The BEST Center).”

Director Wu-Chou Su of Center of Excellent for Clinical Trials and Research in Oncology Specialty is an outstanding clinical oncologist. He stated, “All cancer diseases arise from genetic mutations. The Artificial Targeting Light Activated Nano Scissor applied on cancer treatment initially focuses on late stage. We still need to put in more efforts to package ATLANS for effective tumor-targeting when entering human body. The ATLANS based therapy to modify tumor sensitivity to anti-cancer drugs and improve early disease intervention is still a challenging yet to be confronted.”

The members of the nanomedical research team led by Prof. Dar-Bin Shieh of Institute of Oral Medicine in NCKU Medical College include Director Wu-Chou Su of NCKU Center of Excellent for Clinical Trials and Research in Oncology Specialty; Dean Yonghua Tommy Tzeng of College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Distinguished Professor Chen-Sheng Yeh of Chemical Department; and Professor Jih Ru Hwu of National Tsing Hua University Chemistry Department who synthesized the photocleaver compound. The doctoral student Tsung-Lin Tsai of NCKU Basic Medical Science Institute and the master student Tsung-Ju Li of NCKU Institute of Oral Medicine have put in significant efforts in this work.

Through the cooperation with Dr. Wah Chiu, the Director of National Center for Macromolecular Imaging at Baylor University in United States, the team has preliminarily analyzed the ultrastructure of ATLANS and begun the development of ATALANS-2 and also the advanced nonlinear optical system GeneErasor-3D, hoping to achieve major breakthroughs in the future."

 

[中国万岁-ProsperThroughCo-]

(FT blog)

The ambition to succeed is China’s strength

November 8, 2010 5:24pmby John Gapper | Share

Lucy Kellaway’s column on the fact that many entrepreneurs face personal challenges - and it can be helpful not to be too happy - reminded me of my recent visit to China.

I think Lucy, quoting Rosabeth Moss Kanter on “misery as motivation” is correct about the need for individuals to be motivated to succeed. But this point applies to societies as well.

China envies the US entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley and its capacity to creating a steady flow of innovative, companies. It wants to ascend the value chain from being the “workshop of the world” to creating high-tech enterprises.

But China has the advantage of being an ambitious, growing society where young people are eager to make the most of educational and social advantages their parents lacked.

I saw that on display at Innovation Works, the Beijing high-tech centre established by Kai-Fu Lee, the former head of Google in China. Although executives express worry that the Chinese are not educated to be creative, there is clearly no lack of ambition.

That contrasts with western societies, including the US, which have become accustomed to wealth and comfort. The attitudes of Lucy’s “teenage boy I know” would ring a bell with many parents.

What struck me in China was that, although it has few immigrants compared with the US or the UK, the entire society (at least in coastal cities) behaves like a group of ambitious immigrants.

In time, that will produce entrepreneurship of the kind that flourishes in Silicon Valley.

(response to the blog)

China had its own wave of migration

Published: November 12 2010 01:42 | Last updated: November 12 2010 01:42
From Mr Charles Marshall.

Sir, As a resident of Shanghai I fully agree with John Gapper about the optimism of China’s youth (“China’s strength is its ambition”, Business blog, November 10).

However, his observation that this has been done without immigration, while technically accurate, missed an essential point: the hundreds of millions of people who have moved from the country’s backward central and western provinces to the coast serve the same function as immigrants from the underdeveloped to the developed world.

Charles Marshall,

Shanghai, China

 

[Martian2]

China's Deputy Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai

China's rising status makes it potential friend or foe - CNN.com

"China's rising status makes it potential friend or foe
By Jaime FlorCruz, CNN Beijing Bureau Chief
November 11, 2010 -- Updated 2145 GMT (0545 HKT)
...
Deputy Foreign Minister Cui, a seasoned America-watcher, said the U.S. shouldn't fear the rise of China.

"I think the U.S. has to be confident that China will never challenge its position in the world," he told me. 'We will never do that because leadership in the world would be very costly. We cannot afford it. If you want to waste your money on that, you do it. We're not going to do it.'"

 

[ThatDamnGood]

However, his observation that this has been done without immigration, while technically accurate, missed an essential point: the hundreds of millions of people who have moved from the country’s backward central and western provinces to the coast serve the same function as immigrants from the underdeveloped to the developed world.

A world within itself then.

 

[ThatDamnGood]

China's Deputy Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai

China's rising status makes it potential friend or foe - CNN.com

"China's rising status makes it potential friend or foe
By Jaime FlorCruz, CNN Beijing Bureau Chief
November 11, 2010 -- Updated 2145 GMT (0545 HKT)
...
Deputy Foreign Minister Cui, a seasoned America-watcher, said the U.S. shouldn't fear the rise of China.

"I think the U.S. has to be confident that China will never challenge its position in the world," he told me. 'We will never do that because leadership in the world would be very costly. We cannot afford it. If you want to waste your money on that, you do it. We're not going to do it.'"

Yeah bitchez, its a fool's errand if you didn't realise it by now. Looks like they still dun. Foolz.

 

[ThatDamnGood]

Yup, Google was really licked by Baidu though now Baidu got others on its tail.

How Baidu Won China - BusinessWeek

In August the Xinhaua News Agency announced it was developing a competing search engine in conjunction with China Mobile (CHL), one of the country's state-owned mobile carriers. In September the People's Daily, the Communist Party mouthpiece, appointed a former Olympic Ping-Pong player to run its new search engine, Goso. The idea of government-backed entities developing something as technologically complex as a search engine doesn't concern Baidu much. To observers familiar with how business is conducted in China, though, the announcements were a strong message aimed at Baidu: Don't get too comfortable. "The experience with Google made it very clear to the government that sometimes a commercial company will not play by the rules," says Mark Natkin, managing director of Marbridge Consulting in Beijing.

With Baidu assured of nothing from the government, and Google fading from view, Baidu is now fighting Alibaba and Tencent in a three-way skirmish to be China's preeminent Internet company. Alibaba has blocked Baidu's search engine from cataloging products from its marketplace and is developing its own shopping-oriented search engine. Tencent has been cherry-picking engineers from Google and Baidu and vowing to improve its Soso.com search engine. "It's real war," says Tom Melcher, a U.S. entrepreneur who has lived in China for eight years. "It makes Ellison vs. Gates look tame." Proving the point, John Spelich, an Alibaba spokesman, said of Baidu in August: "These guys are like hoodlums." Kaiser Kuo responds by calling Alibaba execs "whiny little bitches."

***
if u can't take the heat, STFH.

 

[meispig2]

pandas are so cute=0=

 

[Martian2]

US loses status as a 'colossus of science' - physicsworld.com

"US loses status as a 'colossus of science'
Nov 12, 2010

The NSF provides the bulk of US funding for physics.

The US is no longer a "colossus of science" according to a new report looking into the country’s scientific output. Written by information-services provider Thomson Reuters, it says that although the US still holds a "commanding" lead in terms of its research impact, its forerunner status is being eroded. The report blames this on a rapid rise in scientific publishing from countries in Asia and Europe.

The report, released yesterday, notes that the Asia-Pacific region has now overtaken the US in terms of published papers and spending on research. In 2008 the US invested $384bn while Asian countries invested $387bn in total, and while researchers in the US published around 310,000 papers in 2009, over 330,000 were published by scientists in the Asia-Pacific region.

In the physical sciences, the report notes that investment in physics and engineering in the US has "taken a back seat" compared to the biological science at a time when countries in Asia are increasing their spending on research in the physical sciences. "In physics, the trend for the US in terms of world share is distinctly downward," says the report.

Materials decline

The report also warns that while some counties, such as the UK, have maintained their share of the world’s scientific output while faced with growing global competition that fraction in the US has fallen. Indeed, the report highlights research into materials science as one particular area of decline. In 1994 the US published nearly a third of all papers in materials research but this has now reduced to 15%, while China now publishes 23% of papers, and the 27 nations that make up the European Union (EU) publish around 30%.

"Considering the recent rapid acceleration of physics output in China the data in the report is no surprise," says Werner Marx, an information scientist from the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart, Germany. "Europe is already beginning to match the US’s performance in terms of citation impact and the question now is how rapidly countries in Asia will catch up".

However, it is not all gloomy news. The report says that the current state of scientific research in the US remains strong, with "excellent academic institutions that are a magnet for the best minds worldwide" and that the US provides "significant" funding in research and development, which stood at 2.8% of Gross Domestic Product in 2009.

The Thomson Reuters report into the impact of US research comes days after the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization released its Science Report 2010. The report, which is published every five years, says that China is now "a hair's breadth" away from having more researchers than the US and the EU and that it now publishes more scientific articles than Japan.

About the author

Michael Banks is news editor of Physics World"

 

[unicorn]

China Contemplates Business Jet Production

General aviation aircraft manufacturing is underway in China, and the country is now contemplating the if, when and how of building a business jet.

Zhang Xin Guo, executive vice president of the Aviation Industry Corporation on China told Aviation Week at a meeting in New York yesterday that his company “is trying to find a partner to cooperate with” on such a project.

Zhang noted that the PRC already has two major civil aircraft projects underway – the ARJ21 regional jet, and the C919 single aisle jetliner – but that work on a business jet could occur simultaneously. Cessna’s two-place Skycatcher is being built in China, and earlier this year, the Seagull 300, a six-seat, single engine amphibian of Chinese design made its public debut.

Zhang said such any Chinese business jet would likely be a medium-sized machine and aimed first at China’s domestic market. However, he said, studies need to be undertaken to provide the confidence that such a market exists. “It’s not so difficult to make something,” he said, “but you have to calculate the return on investment.”

One possible “short cut,” Zhang said, would be to acquire an existing jet maker, a possibility with precedence. He said his company had been in discussions two years ago about possibly acquiring Piper Aircraft. The Vero Beach, Fla., planemaker was ultimately purchased by Imprimis, a corporate finance and investment management firm that operates from offices in Bangkok, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam, back in 2009.


However, that same year, Xi’an Aircraft Industry (Group) Company Ltd., headquartered in Xian, China, and the private equity company Advanced Treasure Limited, headquartered in Hong Kong, became the majority owners of FACC AG, an Austrian manufacturer specializing in the development, design and manufacture of composite components and systems for civil aircraft.

source:aviation week

 

[Aeon]

China to maintain 8% annual growth for years
2010-11-12 18:29:41

MANILA, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- China will grow at an annual average rate of 8 percent for many years to come, but the country needs to carry out broad structural reforms to ensure that prosperity is shared by all, a leading Chinese investment official said on Friday.

"China's growth strategy will be important for both the country and the rest of the world," Jin Liqun, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of China Investment Corporation said at the Asian Development Bank's Eminent Speakers' Forum.

Jin said reforms which will help unlock the economy's full potential include greater focus on technology and quality in production, a higher skilled labor force, increased support for private sector development, improved infrastructure, and faster shift of people from the countryside to the cities.

"I am sure urbanization will continue and it will contribute substantially to the reduction of poverty in hinterland provinces," he said.

Social reforms, such as greater support for migrant worker families are also necessary, along with fiscal and monetary policy changes which put greater emphasis on macroprudential measures.

On Asian economic development, Jin said, while Asia emerged in relatively good shape from the global financial crisis, thanks to policy and structural changes made in the wake of the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, there is no room for complacency as the performance of the global economy remains uncertain given still- fragile conditions in the United States, sovereign debt problems in Europe and rising trade and currency frictions.

 

[Aeon]

Chinese education ministry forms special group to promote education in Xinjiang
2010-11-11 20:29:55

BEIJING, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Ministry of Education has set up a high-level work group headed by the minister to promote education in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The group will formulate guidelines and programs on bilingual education, secondary vocational education and higher education in Xinjiang, a ministry notice said Thursday.

It would also make proposals for funding and coordinate national support for education in Xinjiang.

The establishment of the group comes after authorities outlined the strategic plan for Xinjiang's "leapfrog development" in May.

Education, along with other aspects of social and economic development, is relatively backward in Xinjiang.

 

[Aeon]

China, Kuwait vow to enhance oil, gas cooperation
2010-11-12 22:32:39

BEIJING, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- China and Kuwait Thursday vowed to develop stable cooperation in the oil and gas sector.

The pledge came out of the meeting between Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang and Kuwait's Minister of Oil Sheik Ahmed Al Abdullah Al Sabah.

Kuwait is an important oil-producing country, Li said, adding that China and Kuwait's prospects for cooperation in the oil and gas sector are good.

He said China hopes to build a long-term and stable cooperative relationship with Kuwait in energy and resources while promoting bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas trade.

Speaking highly of the smooth development of China-Kuwait relations, the vice premier vowed to expand the two sides' cooperation in infrastructure construction, investment, and culture, so as to inject new momentum into the bilateral relationship.

Sabah said Kuwait enjoys its deep traditional friendship with China, adding that the two countries have a solid foundation for energy cooperation.

Kuwait will make every effort to create a good environment for bilateral cooperation with China, he added.

 

[Aeon]

China poised to surpass India as top BPO destination
2010-11-12 12:35:01

MANILA, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- China's outsourcing industry is steadily closing the gap with perennial leader India, ICT research and advisory firm Canada-based XMG Global said in its study issued on Friday.

China is closing 2010 with 35.76 billion U.S. dollars or 28.7 percent share of the global outsourcing industry, while India maintains its lead capturing 54.33 billion U.S. dollars or 43.7 percent of the total.

Assessing the industry's achievement, China is gradually narrowing its revenue gap from India with a huge 30 percent growth compared with India's 14 percent, XMG chief analyst Lauro Vives said in a statement.

"India's weakening lead is due to the substantial efforts of China, the Philippines, and other offshoring destinations in building their capacity to attract significant amount of investment," Vives said.

The Philippines, which came third with 8.85 billion U.S. dollars in total revenue or 7.1 percent share by end of 2010, is also doing well with 23 percent growth surpassing the 20 percent gain last year, he added.

"While India continues to remain the leader, the rest of the offshore countries are now beginning to mature," Vives said.

The analyst said the global outsourcing market is expected to end 2010 with an estimated total revenue of 425 billion U.S. dollars or 13.9 percent higher compared with last year.

"Despite a double-digit growth, this year's accomplishment is relatively low as compared to last year's 14.4 percent growth, indicative of slow investment expansions in offshoring destinations and conservative increase in outsourcing demand from the U.S. and European region,"Vives said.

"This is expected as most of the outsourcing opportunities, pending due to recession, are just starting to obtain green lights this year."

 

[Aeon]

Indonesia's largest bank gets permit to open in Shanghai, China
2010-11-12 11:56:02

JAKARTA, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- After three years of waiting, Indonesia's largest lender Bank Mandiri has obtained a permit to open a branch in Shanghai, China. It is the first step for the bank into the world's most populous country, the JakartaGlobe daily quoted an executive as saying on Friday.

China's Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) issued the permit on Nov. 3.

Bank executive Thomas Arifin said on Thursday that Mandiri now would submit a business operation application to CBRC. "We're hoping the Shanghai branch, which we've been trying to establish since 2007, will open in the first half next year to serve various banking activities, such as garnering corporate deposits, disbursing corporate loans, export-import transactions and remittance," he said.

It would help boost Indonesia and China's business relationship and support Jakarta's efforts to achieve the trade target of 50 billion U.S. dollars with China in 2011.

The Shanghai branch will be Mandiri's seventh outside Indonesia.

 

[Brotherhood]

Lenovo boosts app development - People's Daily Online November 13, 2010

Lenovo Group, China's biggest computer maker, announced on Friday that it has set up a 100 million yuan ($150 million) investment fund to support Chinese developers creating mobile Internet applications and services, as part of its efforts to expand its online application store to compete with rivals such as Apple Inc.

The new fund, which will be run by Legend Holdings Ltd, Lenovo's parent company, will focus on investing in promising Chinese application development teams and enterprises.

Guangzhou Hua Yue Digital Technology, which creates e-reader applications, is the first company to receive support.

"A vital part of our mobile Internet strategy is to provide various online applications," said Yang Yuanqing, chief executive officer of Lenovo.

He said the country's smartphone market will expand rapidly in the next few years. Currently the market penetration of handsets having fast Internet connection is only about 10 percent in China, compared with about 40 percent in the United States.

Lenovo launched a new Android-based smartphone - called LePhone - in May, as part of an initiative to establish a new growth engine after its traditional computer business was affected by growing sales of smartphones, netbooks and tablet computers.

Yang said on Thursday that the company has sold more than 15,000 LePhones since its launch. He expected mobile Internet products to account for 10 to 20 percent of Lenovo's revenue in the next five years.

Analysts said that the lack of applications and services for its handset is one of the biggest challenges facing Lenovo in its bid to compete with products such as Apple's iPhone and HTC's Android-based smartphones, which have been well received by Chinese consumers.

According to Lenovo, the company's online application store has about 1,000 applications available for download at present. The number of applications on Apple's App Store has surpassed 300,000 and Android Market has more than 160,000.

Lenovo said on Friday that its applications will also work with its newly developed tablet - LePad - which will be launched in China early next year.

Source: China Daily