Editing Science and technology in China (section)

=== Health sciences ===
==== Biotechnology and genetics ====
{{Main|Biotechnology industry in China}}
[[Monitor Group]] in a 2010 report predicted that China within a decade will become the world leader in discovery and innovation in [[life science]]s. Some research is seen as less controversial in China than elsewhere such as research regarding the genetic causes of intelligence. [[Beijing Genomics Institute|BGI]], formerly Beijing Genomics Institute, has been described as having the world's largest [[DNA sequencing]] facilities.<ref name="auto" />

[[Stem cell]] research and [[stem cell treatments]] are less controversial in Chinese culture which have supported Chinese research as well [[medical tourism]] to China in order to receive experimental and often unproven therapies. In 2012 a regulatory crackdown was instituted which may increase the ability of the Chinese industry to get approval for sales of future therapies to other nations.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/15268869|title=Wild_East_Or_Scientific_Feast_|date=16 January 2010|newspaper=The Economist}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2012/01/china-halts-new-stem-cell-tria.html|title=Short Sharp Science: China attempts to halt unproven stem cell therapies|work=newscientist.com}}</ref> More generally, China aims and has made progress towards becoming a world leader in [[regenerative medicine]] which also includes areas such as [[tissue engineering]] and [[gene therapy]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=McMahon|first1=D. S.|last2=Thorsteinsdóttir|first2=H.|last3=Singer|first3=P. A.|last4=Daar|first4=A. S.|year=2010|title=Cultivating regenerative medicine innovation in China|journal=Regenerative Medicine|volume=5|issue=1|pages=35–44|doi=10.2217/rme.09.78|pmid=20055687|s2cid=207353199}}</ref>

China in 2011 stated that [[biotechnology]] (including [[biopharmacy]], [[biological engineering]], bio-agriculture and biomanufacturing) was a major priority for science and technology spending. Biotechnology will be used to enhance economic development as well as for improving [[Chinese environmental protection]], nutrition, healthcare, and medicine. The Chinese governments expects biotechnology to add 1 million jobs during the 2011-2015 period.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2011-06/28/content_12790544.htm|title=China placing priority on biotechnology|website=www.chinadaily.com.cn}}</ref>

==== Neuroscientific research ====
On 22 March 2018, an agreement was signed establishing the Chinese Institute for Brain Science, Beijing.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-04122-3|title=Beijing launches pioneering brain-science centre|last1=Cyranoski|first1=David|date=5 April 2018}}</ref> The launch of this institute may represent a significant departure from the current policy focus on applied research and development.<ref name=":2" />

Once completed, the new brain institute will serve as a core facility for the country's planned project to study the human brain. The institute will not be part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Rather, it will collaborate with the academy, along with Beijing's other leading biomedical institutions, including Tsinghua University, Peking University and the Academy of Military Medical Sciences.<ref name=":2" />

The new institute will probably receive funding both from the National Natural Science Foundation and from the megascience programs within the Scientific and Technological Innovation 2030 Project. In March 2018, the government announced plans to place the National Natural Science Foundation under the Ministry of Science and Technology but the implications of this latest reorganization of science are unclear, as the two agencies have different missions in support of basic research.<ref name=":2" />

==== Pharmaceuticals and medical technology ====
[[File:Artemisinin.svg|thumb|The [[malaria]] drug [[artemisinin]] was developed by Chinese scientists from traditional [[Chinese herbology]] which is part of [[traditional Chinese medicine]].]]
{{Further|Pharmaceutical industry in China}}
[[Merrill Lynch]] predicted in 2011 that China would become the world's second largest pharmaceutical market in 2013 and the largest in 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.marketwatch.com/2011-01-14/markets/30792439_1_drug-makers-drug-industry-drug-market|title=In China drug industry, reward may outweigh risk - MarketWatch|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413232805/http://articles.marketwatch.com/2011-01-14/markets/30792439_1_drug-makers-drug-industry-drug-market|archive-date=2013-04-13|access-date=2012-03-22}}</ref> The chief executive of [[Hoffmann-La Roche]] in 2012 stated a few years ago many Chinese life sciences scientists had to leave China but that many were now returning to conditions often better than in the West regarding laboratories, funding, and political support for the industry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pharmatimes.com/article/12-03-06/China_more_positive_about_pharma_than_many_in_west_-_Schwan.aspx|title=China more positive about pharma than many in west - Schwan|work=pharmatimes.com}}</ref> [[Counterfeit drug]]s have caused a number of scandals as well as being a problem for drug development and authorities have increased regulations and enforcement.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Mooney|first1=P.|year=2010|title=China cracks down on counterfeiters|journal=Nature Medicine|volume=16|issue=4|page=360|doi=10.1038/nm0410-360a|pmid=20376025|s2cid=205377696|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204528204577011500428003264|title=China Police Nab Fake-Drug Ring - WSJ|author=Laurie Burkitt|date=2 November 2011|work=WSJ}}</ref>

A 2011 report by [[PwC]] stated that a decade earlier China barely had any presence in the [[medical technology]] industry but its abilities had been rapidly growing. China could well become more important than Europe by 2020.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/17963427|title=Frugal_Healing|date=22 January 2011|newspaper=The Economist}}</ref>