National Policies Improve the Development Environment for Domestically Produced Scientific Instruments

[Introduction] It is understood that in recent years, the state has launched a series of plans to revitalize the domestic scientific instrument industry, supporting the development of domestic testing instruments, building platforms for communication and exchange, and establishing a national major instrument and equipment development project to further optimize and improve the development environment for domestic scientific instruments in my country.

Scientific instruments are essentially a "hidden" military industry, a fiercely competitive sector for all countries. The innovation, manufacturing, and application levels of scientific instruments reflect a country's scientific and industrial strength.

The recently released "China Scientific Instrument Industry Development Report (2014)" shows that domestically produced scientific instruments are mainly used in the testing institutions of manufacturing enterprises, grassroots government testing units, and third-party professional testing institutions. Only 22.3% of domestically produced scientific instruments are used in scientific research and teaching, indicating a low market share for domestically produced instruments in scientific research, R&D, and teaching. The "China Scientific Instrument Industry Development Report (2014)" suggests that excellent domestic scientific instrument manufacturers should pay full attention to this market, as researchers and students represent the future of the instrument market.

According to the Director of the Standards Management Division of the Science and Technology Standards Department of the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China, promoting the healthy development of the domestic instrument and equipment industry requires focusing on four aspects:

First, improving quality. For a long time, the impression of domestically produced equipment has been one of "poor stability, high failure rate, and inconsistent test results," which has become the biggest constraint on its use.

Second, breaking monopolies. Data shows that in 2013, my country imported US$6.294 billion worth of laboratory analytical instruments and exported US$1.456 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of US$4.838 billion. From 2009 to 2013, the trade deficit continued to widen. High-end equipment such as ICP, mass spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray fluorescence spectrometers are heavily reliant on imports due to monopolies.

Third, technological advancement. The domestic market has a complete range of low-end products, but lacks the capacity to produce high-end products, forcing domestic manufacturers to compete on price to seize market share. For example, domestically produced high-performance liquid chromatographs cost only 40,000-60,000 yuan, while imported equipment costs at least 300,000 yuan. Therefore, we must focus on developing high-end new technologies.

Fourth, overcoming monopolies. The hidden technological barriers manifest themselves primarily in two aspects. First, developed countries, under the guise of safety, hygiene, and environmental protection, impose strict technical regulations on goods, resulting in a situation where only large-scale instruments with higher detection limits and sensitivity can be used for laboratory testing. The current large-scale procurement of foreign instruments and equipment by the inspection and quarantine system falls into this category. Second, there are stringent evaluation systems for instruments and equipment. Users are hesitant to purchase instruments and equipment without authoritative technical certification data. Due to the imperfections in my country's instrument and equipment evaluation system, foreign buyers or certification bodies, when inspecting or auditing Chinese laboratories, require that the equipment and reagents used be evaluated by designated foreign institutions or specify foreign brands. In contrast, developed countries have strict third-party evaluation constraints on instruments and equipment.

It is understood that, to promote the development of domestically produced scientific instruments, the state has launched a series of plans in recent years to revitalize the domestic scientific instrument industry, support the development of domestic testing instruments, and build a platform for connection and exchange. A relevant official from the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission stated that the Ministry of Science and Technology, together with the Ministry of Finance, has jointly established a national major instrument and equipment development project in recent years, investing billions of yuan and launching multiple projects to promote the localization, industrialization, and demonstration of large-scale instruments. With increased government policy support, the development environment for domestically produced scientific instruments in my country will be further optimized and improved.