China’s innovation opens up new vistas

Recently, the Tianzhou-1, homegrown aircraft carrier and C919 trunk liner have attracted world’s attention.

Refueling in the space is the international problem in this day, and only Russia tried it. On April 22, China’s first cargo ship Tianzhou-1, is docked with the Tiangong II space lab, and conducted in-orbit refueling. The two spacecrafts are traveling at a speed of 8,000 meters per second, like two ballet dancers in the space. “Money cannot buy advanced technology, but we could develop it by ourselves, ” said Qiu Huayong, who is the chief designer of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. “As the two spacecrafts are traveling at a high speed, China’s self-developed floating detachable connector exerts a vital role in conducting successful refueling. The technology was firstly used in Tianzhou-1, and effectively eliminates technology lock-in. Therefore, China has become the second country who mastered the technique of space refueling in the World,” Qiu adds. China aims to build a permanent space station in 2022, and the debut of the cargo ship is important as it acts as a courier to help maintain the space station.

On April 26, China’s first home-built aircraft carrier was launched in Dalian shipyard of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corp. “The launching of the first domestically developed aircraft carrier has gained a stage achievement. The aircraft carrier with a large mount of new techniques is a rare example of pioneering in quick construction, which was kicked off in November 2013 and transferred to dockyard in March 2015. The main body of the carrier has been completed, with equipment of major systems including propulsion and electricity installed. Unlike other ships, the construction of aircraft carrier need special steels with the capacity of antimagnetic, erosion-resistant, heat-resistant, high strength and toughness. Such steel would never be sold by any countries in the world, and we have to develop independently. In recent years, China has solved some key technologies in special steel and welding and obtained patents in these fields as well. Thanks to the special steel, China can successfully launched its second aircraft carrier.

The design and manufacturing of large passenger jet stands for an overall industrial level of a country. On May 5, China’s home-grown C919 passenger jet had its test flight successfully in Shanghai. “The C919 is a self-developed jet airliner and obtained IPRs in design,” said Wu Guanghui, chief designer of the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC). The C919 adopts the most advanced power, AVIC system and flight control system, and reaches the latest International Airworthiness Standard. Although COMAC filed 1,000 patent applications in China, its co-operative across the nation had obtained 30,000 relevant patents.

The spaceship, aircraft carrier and trunk liner are the dreams of several generations of Chinese people. The innovation achievements continued to emerge, which attracted world’s attention. “In recent years, under the guideline of implementing innovation-driven development strategy and building China into an IP power house, the above achievements have become a new national business card and reflected China’s creation power. With the IPR continuing showing its power, the innovation in China will see better times,” said Li Shunde, Director of Law and IP Department, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.