Table Of ContentAihua Pan
Bioeconomy
Theory and Practice
Bioeconomy
Aihua Pan
Bioeconomy
Theory and Practice
Aihua Pan
Sinobioway Group Co., Ltd.
Beijing, China
ISBN 978-981-19-6163-2 ISBN 978-981-19-6164-9 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-6164-9
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Preface
The twenty-first century is the century of biology—it has become a scientific
consensus. How to interpret this sentence? The author believes that it has three impli-
cations. First, the life science will become a leading discipline, sugguesting its rele-
vant theories, approaches, and models will provide new ways of thinking, methods,
and approaches for the research in other disciplines, bringing revolutionary changes
to the research in natural and social sciences, just as physics, mathematics, and chem-
istry did during the past 200 years as the leading disciplines. Second, the bioindustry
will become a pillar industry. Just as the industry became a pillar industry under the
leadership of physics and the same with information industry and electronics, the
bioindustry will become the leading industry of this century under the leadership of
life sciences. Third, the human being will enter the era of bioeconomy. The human
being, having gone through the agrarian economy led by agricultural technology,
industrial economy led by industrial technology, and information economy led by
information technology, will enter a new economic era, i.e., the bioeconomic era led
by biotechnology.
Since the clarification of the double helix structure of DNA over 60 years ago,
tremendous advances have been made in the fields of the life science and biotech-
nology, such as recombinant DNA technology, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
technology, the Human Genome Project (HGP)1 in particular, breakthroughs in gene
1 Human Genome Project (HGP) was a large-scale international cross-disciplinary scientific
research project, put forth by American scientists in 1985 and initiated in 1990, performed in
the USA, the UK, France, Germany, Japan, and China with the goal of determining the 3 billion
base pairs that make up human DNA and of identifying and mapping all of the genes and their
sequences of the human genome so as to achieve the ultimate goal of deciphering human genetic
information.
v
vi Preface
sequencing, gene knock out/in2 , the development of CRISPR/Cas9 and other gene-
editing technologies3 , as well as the combination of life sciences and big data. These
have provided an increasingly clearer understanding of genes and the nature of life;
they will also make the life science become the leading discipline, the bioindustry
become a pillar of the economy, and thus the human being will enter the era of
bioeconomy.
There must be a new guiding theory for the bioeconomic era. The establishment
of the discipline requires three conditions: a systematic theory as guidance, a group
of people involved in research, and bases for practice and exploration. In this respect,
Sinobioway Group4 fully deserves the title as the leader of bioeconomy, because it
is the founder of the bioeconomic theory, the creator of the bioeconomic model,
and the practitioner of the bioeconomic industry, and it has built the first brand-
new bioeconomic system in the world. The bioeconomic system is composed of
three aspects: the bioeconomic theory, the bioeconomic model, and the bioeconomic
industry. The bioeconomic theory refers to the new theories formed by applying
the ideas and approaches of life sciences and medicine in the research of economic
and social issues; the bioeconomic model refers to the new economic model created
under the guidance of the bioeconomic theory; the bioeconomic industry refers to the
industry formed through the integrated and coordinated development of big finance,
big market, and big industry by applying the bioeconomic model under the direction
of the bioeconomic theory.
The core concept of the bioeconomic theory that the author put forward
originates in the article DNA Double-Helix will Lead Human into a Biolog-
ical Century5 published in Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Pekinensis
(Journal of Peking University [Natural Science Edition]) in 2003. In the article,
the auther comprehensively and systematically expounded the concept, definition,
implication, and the theory of bioeconomy.
It was the author’s first systematic description of bioeconomy. Looking back, it
was in 1995 when he first proposed the concept of bioeconomy. During over two
decades from 1995 to 2019, he made over a hundred thematic reports on bioeconomy
2 Gene knockout utilizes the property of homologous recombination of cell chromosome DNA and
homologous sequences of exogenous DNA to inactivate a specific target gene to study the function
of the gene; gene knockin is the technology of targeted insertion of a functional exogenous gene
(genes that did not previously exist or have been inactivated) at homologous sequences in cells and
in the genome for homologous recombination to obtain gene expression in cells.
3 Gene editing is a new technique for site-specific modifications of the genome. Using this technique,
it is possible to pinpoint a certain position in the genome, cut the target DNA fragment, and insert
a new gene fragment at that position.
4 Short for Sinobioway Group Co., Ltd., established in 1992, one of the university-owned enter-
prises of Peking University. It is headquartered at the PKU Biocity to the north of the Old Summer
Palace, covering an area of over 173,000 sqm; the company is mainly engaged in the establishment
of the bioeconomic system and the development of the bioeconomic industry, with six key invest-
ment fields: biomedicine, bioagriculture, bioenergy, bioenvironment, bioservices, and biointelligent
manufacturing.
5 DNA Double-Helix will Lead Human into a Biological Century: PAN Aihua: Acta Scientiarum
Naturalium Universitatis Pekinensis, 2003, 39(6): 764–769.
Preface vii
at various conferences, forums, and government sectors at all levels in an effort to
actively advocate bioeconomy. He was also invited to give a thematic report on Pan’s
Bioeconomy: Theory and Practice at the headquarters of the European Parliament in
2016, during which he comprehensively expounded three questions: What is bioe-
conomy? What problems can it solve? How do we develop it? He concluded with
three points, which drew extensive attention. The human being will enter the era
of bioeconomy in 2020; bioeconomy is one path that humans must take for devel-
opment; the bioeconomic community is the most beautiful home for people in the
future. In the past over ten years, bioeconomy has won extensive recognition around
the world, though it must be pointed out there are fundamental differences between
the author’s bioeconomy and those proposed by many other experts and scholars
(This will be described in more details in the following text). Therefore, the term
“Pan’s bioeconomy” was unanimously used in the following text during the discus-
sion of the author’s bioeconomy, to distinguish and to show respect for other experts
and scholars.
The author was awarded the 2015 Pericles International Prize in recognition of
the bioeconomic theory he created by applying the approaches of life sciences and
medicine in the research of economic and social issues as well as his outstanding
contribution to the development of new drugs. The award was given with the words:
Professor Pan Aihua is the initiator of the bioeconomy theory. Like the many ancient
Greek philosophers such as Gioacchino Da Fiore, he pioneered the organic integra-
tion of life sciences and economics with his unique forward-looking thinking and
created a bioeconomy theory based on the harmonious development between man and
nature, providing a brand-new healthy and sustainable path of human development
with agriculture, food, medicine, and environment that supplement each other.
The reason for the author’s ability to propose the completely new concept of
bioeconomy—Pan’s bioeconomy—is closely related to his knowledge structure, his
own development experience, and his personal experience with the development and
transformations of the Chinese economy and society. He is equipped with broad and
professional background of knowledge in medicine, life sciences, economics, and
so on; he has been through ups and downs during the development stages and rich
life experiences as a hospital doctor, a researcher in a research institute, a university
professor, and a founder and owner-manager of a large-scale enterprise and made
remarkable accomplishments in each development stage; he has, in his own devel-
opment, personally experienced and synchronized with the multiple transformations
in China’s social and economic development during its surging forward with great
momentum in the past few decades. Therefore, with a comprehensive knowledge
structure and distinctive thinking pattern, as well as a forward-looking vision of
economic and social development in China and the world at large, the cutting-edge
biotechnologies, and the development trends of the bioindustry, he proposed the
basic framework of the bioeconomic system by applying the ideas and approaches
of life sciences and medicine in the research of economic and social issues; mean-
while, he further put forth a relatively complete bioeconomic system with three
inter-supporting and organically integrated aspects of the bioeconomic theory, the
bioeconomic model, and the bioeconomic industry; in addition, he created a unique
viii Preface
path of thinking for the bioeconomic development to guide the development of the
bioeconomic industry.
The founding course of Pan’s bioeconomy shows that it is systematic and innova-
tive—Pan’s bioeconomy is a brand-new scientific system distinguished from other
bioeconomic concepts and directly proves that it is scientific and plausible—Sino-
bioway Group has created many number-ones in China and the world during its three
decades of explorations.
The life science is science that studies the laws of the structure, functions, gener-
ation, and development of the living species, whereas medicine is a discipline that
deals with the treatment of various diseases and illnesses of life through scientific or
technological means. The two are closely interrelated but are fundamentally different
as the former is mainly about exploring the laws of the free development of the living
species, while the latter is mainly about interventions of wellness and diseases. It is a
remarkable feature that distinguishes Pan’s bioeconomy from other economic studies
to apply the ideas and approaches of life sciences and medicine in the research of
economic and social issues.
Looking back on the history of economics studies, theories and doctrines emerged
in endlessly. The most representative though is An Inquiry into the Nature and
Causes of the Wealth of Nations (more often translated as The Wealth of Nations
in recent years)6 and the theory of the socialist planned economy revealed in Karl
Marx’s Das Kapital. The two, respectively, represented the two main economic
models in the world: market economy and planned economy. In a market economy,
resources are allocated freely through the market, whereas a planned economy relies
on government plans to adjust economic activities, which resemble the life science
and medicine in terms of the form. Since reform and opening-up, China has had
increasing improvement in the socialist market economy, created a miracle in the
economy and won unanimous recognition around the world. The Chinese socialist
market economy has set an example of a perfect combination of market economy and
planned economy in the history of economic and social development. In this sense, it
is highly likely that China’s GDP will surpass that of the USA to become the world’s
greatest power as long as there is no war or large-scale social changes. Pan’s bioe-
conomy is manifested as socialist market economy in terms of the economic form—
its foundation and development have found the true answer to China’s economic
wonders as the whole world is having troubles in revealing the root causes in the
meantime of marveling at its economic miracle.
All in all, the human being will enter the era of bioeconomy, having gone through
the eras of gathering and hunting economy, agrarian economy, industrial economy,
and information economy. Under the guidance of the bioeconomy with its three major
6 The Wealth of Nations (Chinese Edition). Author: Adam Smith. Translators: Guo Dali and Wang
Yanan. Nanjing: Yilin Publishing House, 2011.
Preface ix
characteristics (benefiting oneself without harming others, developing the economy
relying on the ecology, enjoying life while working), the human being will enter the
life state of communism. To this end, we have sufficient reasons to believe that the
bioeconomy will lead the human being into the new era of peace and sustainable
development.
Beijing, China Aihua Pan
August 2021 Professor of Peking
University, Chairman of Sinobioway
Group Co., Ltd.
Contents
Part I The Theory Part
1 Overview ...................................................... 3
1.1 Major Issues Concerning Modern Economic and Social
Development ............................................. 3
1.1.1 There Are Three Major Issues with the Human
Society ........................................... 4
1.1.2 The Modern World Economy is Still Exploring
aNew WayOut .................................... 8
1.2 Bioeconomy Will Guide Human Economic Society
to a Bright Future ......................................... 10
1.2.1 The Scientific and Technological Revolution is
the Core Driving Force Leading the Economic
Society Out of Economic Crises ..................... 10
1.2.2 The Biotechnological Revolution Will Dominate
a New Round of Technological Revolutions ........... 12
1.2.3 Bioeconomy: The New Economic Pattern
Dominated by Biotechnological Revolutions ........... 14
1.3 The Bioeconomy: Leading Transformations in Economics ....... 25
1.3.1 Economics is Facing Immense Difficulties ............. 25
1.3.2 The Theoretical Foundation of Pan’s Bioeconomy ...... 30
1.3.3 The Theoretical Connotation of Pan’s Bioeconomy ..... 34
1.4 The Bioeconomy: Giving Humanity a Fresh Pair of Eyes ........ 35
1.4.1 The Development History of Pan’s Bioeconomy ........ 35
1.4.2 The Foundation and Unique Background
for the Author to Put Forward Pan’s Bioeconomy ....... 37
1.4.3 The Important Influence and Contributions of Pan’s
Bioeconomy ...................................... 39
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