Strategic studies and perspectives on chemical engineering in China

Chemical Engineering applies the natural（or experimental）sciences（e. g. chemistry and physics）and life sciences（e.g. biology, microbiology and biochemistry）together with mathematics and economics to produce, transform, transport, and properly use chemicals, materials and energy. Chemical engineering passed two mile-stones of the unit operation and mass transfer, heat transfer, monmtum transfer and chemical engineering reaction. Before and after the new century, chemical engineering entered a new stage, involing chemical product engineering, "three transfers and reactions plus X", multi-scale theory and methods and meso-scale theory and methods. In the recent decade, chemical engineering in China has achieved great progress. Powerful research platform and strong research teams were constructed. The publications not only in quantity but in citation quality have been in the same position with the United States. Many scientifis achievements and technologies contributed to the fast development of socity and economy in China. Based on the analysis of key support areas of United States NSF between 20012011, key words index studies on the papers published in AIChE Journal, Chemical Engineering Science, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research in recent ten years, three main catalogies, the fundamental research, transdisciplinarity and the requirements for socity and economy, totally fifiteen research areas were figured out. Finally, three main suggestions for the development of chemical engineering were presented.