46 Trade Secret Theft, Industrial Espionage, and the China Threat
• Nuclear Weapons. Qinghua University Nuclear Research Institute has claimed success in
the development of high-temperature, gas-cooled reactors, projects that could aid in the
development of nuclear weapons.
• Exotic Materials. The 863 Program areas include optoelectronic information materi-
als, structural materials, special function materials, composites, rare-earth metals, new
energy compound materials, and high-capacity engineering plastics. These projects could
advance the PRC’s development of materials, such as composites, for military aircraft and
other weapons.
Thirteen years later after the program was initially announced, China announced a “Super 863
Program. ...