Tibet Makes Capital Investment to Boost Technology Research and Development

In 2018, the Science and Technology Department of Tibet Autonomous Region invested 495 million yuan (74 million US dollars) in science and technology R&D, with 165 million yuan (25 million US dollars) invested in applied technology, significantly increasing science and technology’s contributions to social and economic development.

The management of intellectual copyright has continued to improve in Tibet. In 2018, the National Intellectual Property Administration (the Chinese Patent Office), opened a division in Lhasa, increasing the number of patent applications and authorizations. As of October of 2018, a total of 354 patent applications were submitted, an increase of 63.1% from the previous period, including 70 patent approvals, which is an increase of 112.1%. In 2017, there were 135 patent applications and 87 patent approvals.

It is reported that many science and technology achievements have also been made in the farming and herding industry. In 2018, Tibet organized and focused on 48 farming and herding programs, investing a total of 94 million yuan (14 million US dollars). In cultivating highland barley, wheat, and oilseed rape as new crops, seven of the crops made significant gains, providing support for increasing crop production in the plateau region. About 25 thousand mu (4,118 acres) of excellent pasture was cultivated, increasing manual pasture production by 40-50%, and effectively increasing economic benefit by four hundred million yuan (60 million US dollars).

In addition, major advances were made in the analysis and applications of Tibet’s native fish species, successfully outlining the first genomic map for the black-striped catfish, a species unique to the plateau, and filled in the blanks for research of the Qinghai plateau’s fish species.

In the area of medical care, Tibet has successfully transplanted over 100 programs from in-land China in 2018, conquered 57 technical challenges, and filled in the blanks for medical technology with 61 items. For the first time, over 5000 Tibetan medicine and medical terms were also standardized, helping to publish the Index of Tibetan Medical Terms (Tibetan edition).