Nanotechnology development in China: challenges and opportunities

Abstract

Abstract China has invested heavily in nanotechnology in the past decades. It's one of the key areas of focus in the medium and long-term scientific programmes between 2006 and 2020. In 2012, the country also launched a Strategic Pioneering Programme on nanotechnology, which has a budget of one billion yuan (US$152 million) over five years and is led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing. As a result of this long-term investment, China is now a major player in nanotechnology, ranking first worldwide in terms of the number of scientific papers and patents. At the Sixth International Conference on Nanoscience and Technology—which was held in Beijing on 3–5 September, 2015—Chunli Bai, President of CAS and Editor-in-Chief of National Science Review (NSR), shared a platform with another five leading scientists, where they discussed recent progress of nanotechnology in China, the potential impact of nanoparticles on public health, as well as challenges and opportunities ahead. Chunli Bai (Chair) President of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing Minghua Liu An expert on nano materials and molecular assembly and Director of National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, China, in Beijing Zhongfan Liu An expert on nanochemistry and graphene at Peking University Chen Wang An expert on nanomicroscopy and nanomedicine and Deputy Director of National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, China, in Beijing Peidong Yang An expert on nanomaterials and their application in energy research at the University of California at Berkeley, USA Yuliang Zhao An expert on nanomedicine and nanosafety at National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, China, and Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of High Energy Physics