863 Program

{{Short description|Chinese technology program}}

{{EngvarA|date=May 2021}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}

{{dablink|For the manned space program, see Chinese space program#Project 863}}

{{History of the People's Republic of China}}

The 863 program ({{zh|s=863计划}}) or State High-Tech Development Plan ({{zh|s=国家高技术研究发展计划}}) was a program funded and administered by the government of the People's Republic of China intended to stimulate the development of advanced technologies in a wide range of fields for the purpose of rendering China independent of financial obligations for foreign technologies.{{Cite book

| first1= Hequan | last1 = Wu | author-link1=Wu Hequan

| title = WCC 2000 - ICCT 2000. 2000 International Conference on Communication Technology Proceedings (Cat. No.00EX420)

| chapter = The progress of communication technology subject of hi-tech research development plan of China

| volume = 1

| date = 2002-08-06

| location = Beijing

| isbn = 0-7803-6394-9

| pages = 3–4

| doi = 10.1109/ICCT.2000.889157| s2cid = 60832883

}} It was inspired by the Strategic Defense Initiative proposed by U.S. president Ronald Reagan in 1983, and was absorbed alongside Program 973 into the "National Key R&D Program" in 2016.{{Cite journal |last1=Zhi |first1=Qiang |last2=Pearson |first2=Margaret M. |date=July 2017 |title=China's Hybrid Adaptive Bureaucracy: The Case of the 863 Program for Science and Technology |url=https://gvpt.umd.edu/sites/gvpt.umd.edu/files/pubs/zhi_pearson-2016-governance.pdf |journal=Governance |language=en |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=407–424 |doi=10.1111/gove.12245 |s2cid=152280888 |access-date=29 November 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920171015/https://gvpt.umd.edu/sites/gvpt.umd.edu/files/pubs/zhi_pearson-2016-governance.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Cite journal|last1=Gewirtz|first1=Julian|date=February 2019|title=The Futurists of Beijing: Alvin Toffler, Zhao Ziyang, and China's "New Technological Revolution," 1979–1991|journal=The Journal of Asian Studies|language=en|volume=78|issue=1|pages=115–140|doi=10.1017/S0021911818002619|issn=0021-9118|doi-access=free}}{{Cite web |date=September 13, 2021 |title=Press Conference on the "Launch and Implementation of the National Key R&D Program": Summary Transcript |url=https://cset.georgetown.edu/publication/press-conference-on-the-launch-and-implementation-of-the-national-key-rd-program-summary-transcript/ |access-date=2024-01-06 |website=Center for Security and Emerging Technology |language=en-US |archive-date=3 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003013549/https://cset.georgetown.edu/publication/press-conference-on-the-launch-and-implementation-of-the-national-key-rd-program-summary-transcript/ |url-status=live }}

On March 3, 1986, the program was suggested by Wang Daheng, Wang Ganchang, Yang Jiachi, and Chen Fangyun in a letter to China's paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, who approved the program within 2 days.{{Cite web|url=http://www.most.gov.cn/eng/programmes1/|title=Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China|website=www.most.gov.cn|access-date=2019-11-29|archive-date=6 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106013128/https://www.most.gov.cn/eng/programmes1/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://cpc.people.com.cn/n/2014/1231/c69113-26308784.html|title=1986年邓小平亲自决策启动"863"计划--邓小平纪念网--人民网|website=cpc.people.com.cn|access-date=2019-11-29|archive-date=20 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920172028/http://cpc.people.com.cn/n/2014/1231/c69113-26308784.html|url-status=live}} The program was initially led by Zhao Ziyang, who was the premier of China at the time, and received a governmental fund of 10 billion RMB in 1986, which accounts for 5% of the total government spending that year.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=reUcHRkOwCsC&dq=863+program+10+billion+1986&pg=PA58|title=Agricultural Biotechnology in China: Origins and Prospects|last1=Karplus|first1=Valerie J.|last2=Deng|first2=Xing Wang|date=2007-12-17|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-0-387-71138-6|language=en|access-date=27 November 2021|archive-date=5 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105025917/https://books.google.com/books?id=reUcHRkOwCsC&dq=863+program+10+billion+1986&pg=PA58#v=onepage&q=863%20program%2010%20billion%201986&f=false|url-status=live}} According to the US National Counterintelligence and Security Center, the 863 program "provides funding and guidance for efforts to clandestinely acquire US technology and sensitive economic information."{{Cite web |date=October 2011 |title=Foreign Spies Stealing US Economic Secrets in Cyberspace: Report to Congress on Foreign Economic Collection and Industrial Espionage, 2009-2011. |url=https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/Newsroom/Reports%20and%20Pubs/20111103_report_fecie.pdf |access-date=January 4, 2024 |website=Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive |archive-date=29 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231229191532/https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/Newsroom/Reports%20and%20Pubs/20111103_report_fecie.pdf |url-status=live }}

Among the products known to have resulted from the 863 program are the Loongson computer processor family (originally named Godson), the Tianhe supercomputers and the Shenzhou spacecraft.{{Cite web|url=http://english.ict.cas.cn/rh/rps/200909/t20090910_36875.html|title=Designing Quad-Core Loongson-3 Processor|website=english.ict.cas.cn|access-date=2019-11-29|archive-date=22 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922074739/http://english.ict.cas.cn/rh/rps/200909/t20090910_36875.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://thediplomat.com/2013/09/scientific-innovation-and-chinas-military-modernization/|title=Scientific Innovation and China's Military Modernization|website=thediplomat.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-29|archive-date=3 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003145043/https://thediplomat.com/2013/09/scientific-innovation-and-chinas-military-modernization/|url-status=live}}