[In Depth] China bets big on big facilities
Thursday, September 22, 2016 - 14:53
in Earth & Climate
As part of its new 13th 5-year plan, the Chinese Academy of Sciences this month unveiled plans for a national science center that will carry out mission-driven research along the lines of the U.S. Department of Energy's national laboratories. The first of China's multipurpose labs will rise in Huairou Science Park, a technology park planned for Beijing's northern outskirts. Forming the backbone of the center, slated for completion in 2023, will be a powerful synchrotron—the Beijing Advanced Photon Source—a supercomputer, and two other big-ticket facilities that will together cost $1.4 billion to build. More such laboratories are on the drawing board. Author: Jane Qiu