1. Commission of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND)
| Minister: | Zhang Qingwei |
| Vice Ministers: | Chen Qiufa Sun Laiyan Yu Liegui Sun Qin Jin Zhuanglong |
| Address: | 8A Fucheng Lu, Haidian District, Beijing 100037 |
| Telephone: | 86-10-6851-6733 |
| Facsimile: | 86-10-6851-6732 |
| Website: | www.costind.gov.cn |
| Departments: | General Office; Policies, Laws and Regulations; Restructuring; General Planning; Economic Coordination; Finance; Science, Technology, and Quality; System Engineering I; System Engineering II; System Engineering III; Bureau of Work Safety Supervision; Bureau of Safety and Intelligence; International Cooperation; Personnel and Education; CCP Committee; Bureau of Retired Officials; Bureau of Service |
COSTIND was originally created in 1982 by the merger of the State Council's National Defense Office with two People's Liberation Army (PLA) defense institutions; it reported to the Central Military Commission and acted as a link between the PLA and military-owned businesses by passing on assignments from PLA General Staff to defense enterprises. COSTIND was reformed significantly in 1998 and now reports directly to the State Council.
The 1998 reforms allowed COSTIND to keep its defense industry management functions while extending its scope to include the national defense department, various state nuclear agencies, the China National Space Administration, and certain administrative responsibilities of other major defense-oriented state companies such as China North Industries Co. (NORINCO) and China State Shipbuilding Corp. It controls weapons research and production both in military establishments and dual-role corporations. COSTIND also administers defense conversion, research and development (R&D) as well as production for national defense, and funding for the two main defense industries. Part of the 1998 restructuring took COSTIND out of the hands of military generals and put it into the hands of civilian leaders. All of the organization's top leaders come from other civilian ministries and commissions.
COSTIND has tried to overhaul controversial and sprawling defense conversion industries, most of which are located in inland areas and are facing the same problems afflicting most SOEs. The ultimate goal for COSTIND is to slash state subsidies to the ailing defense-conversion sector.
Return to PART V: State Council 28 Ministries and Commissions