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China State Science and Technology Commission
The State Science and Technology Commission, a ministeriallevel organ of the State Council, had responsibility for overseeing
the work of civilian research institutes subordinate to the various
industrial ministries, such as the Ministry of Electronics Industry
and the Ministry of Coal Industry, or to provincial-level,
prefectural, or municipal bureaus. More than 80 percent of China's
10,000 research institutes fell in this category, and their range
of quality was considerable. Central planners and administrators
considered the proliferation of low-quality research institutes a
waste of scarce research funds, but as of mid-1987 they had not
been able to overrule powerful ministries or local governments.
Such institutes, which employed the majority of China's scientists
and engineers, were expected to devote themselves to the
application of science and to useful innovations and improvements
to industrial processes and products. They had little direct
contact with factories, and they reported their research results up
the chain of command of their department or ministry, which was
responsible for passing them on to factories. The scientists and
engineers had little opportunity for interchanges with research
institutes that were doing similar work but that were subordinate
to a different ministry or commission.
The State Science and Technology Commission also has primary
responsibility for coordinating science policy with the State's
planning and budgeting operations working in coordination with the
State Planning Commission, the State Economic Commission, and the
Ministry of Finance. The importance of science and science policy
was indicated by the high state and party rank of the ministers and
vice ministers placed in charge of the State Science and Technology
Commission. Provincial-level units, responsible for budgeting,
planning, and coordinating across administrative hierarchies, had
their own science and technology commissions. The demarcation
between the responsibilities of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and
the State Science and Technology Commission in policy formulation
and consultation was not entirely clear, and there was probably a
certain degree of ambiguity and contention in their dealings with
each other. The commission was apprised of the research being done
at the academy institutes and approved the academy budget as a
whole, but it could not direct the allocation of funds within the
academy.
Data as of July 1987
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