China unveils five-year plan for bioeconomy

China's top economic regulator on Tuesday unveiled a new plan to spur the bioeconomy during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), in a bid to promote high-quality development of the sector. The new document, released by the National Development and Reform Commission, said it is important to boost the bioeconomy during the next five years, to help meet the rising domestic demand for healthcare and better lives, foster high-quality economic development, prevent and control biosecurity risks and modernize China's system and capacity for governance.

NDRC said the new plan is in line with the requirements of the 14th Five-Year Plan, which pledged to promote the integration and innovation of biotechnology and information technology, as well as accelerate the development of biomedicine, biological breeding, biomaterials, bioenergy and other industries to enhance bioeconomy in scope and strength.

Under the plan, bioeconomy-a model focusing on protecting and using biological resources and deeply integrating medicine, healthcare, agriculture, forestry, energy, environmental protection, materials and other sectors-will become a key driving force to boost high-quality development by 2025.

By 2025, China's bioeconomy will witness increases in its total scale, enhanced comprehensive strength of science and technology, and development of industrial integration, as well as enhanced biosecurity.

By 2035, China is set to be at the forefront in the world in terms of the comprehensive strength of its bioeconomy. According to the plan, China will take steps to boost biotechnological innovation and accelerate the development of healthcare, bio-agriculture, bioenergy and biological environmental protection, as well as bioinformatics. -