BEIJING, Oct. 13 -- The Chinese Government's innovation investment is set to skyrocket over the next five years, a top official said Thursday in Shenzhen.

Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said investment in this field would stand at "tens of millions of yuan" during the period of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10).

"Our commission allocated 12 billion yuan (1.52 billion U. S. dollars) to technological innovation during the period of the 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-05). I think the figure will be much bigger in the coming five years," Zhang said at the China High-Tech Fair, which opened yesterday in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province.

The government's positive attitude attracted a further 200 billion yuan (25.3 billion dollars) in innovation investment from business between 2001 and 2005, said Zhang, who expected non-governmental funding to grow in the coming five years.

According to the plan, the NDRC will allocate at least 6 billion yuan (760 million dollars) to 12 major technological projects, including the Spallation Neutron Source, testing devices for high-magnetic fields and scientific research vessels for oceanographic research.

The Spallation Neutron Source will provide the most intense pulsed neutron beams in the world for scientific research and industrial development.

The NDRC will allocate a further 5 billion yuan (632.9 million dollars) to improve the overall quality of China's scientific research institutes.

Some of this cash will go to the Chinese Academy of Sciences' efforts to become a world-leading institution by 2010. The remainder of the 5 billion yuan (633 million dollars) will be used to build and upgrade 50 national engineering research centers, 100 national engineering laboratories and 300 national technical centers.

Meanwhile, the NDRC will also play a major role in the local development of 17 major technologies, such as nuclear power stations and high-speed railways. "Our great input in innovation will help allow for the quick transfer of technologies into production, which could prompt a transformation in economic performance and structure. It's good news for the country's economic growth," Zhang said.

The government wants to shift China's economy from its current heavy reliance on investment and a high level of energy consumption to one that is technology-driven.

(Source: Chinadaily.com)