Recently, the Ministry of Science and Technology issued the Special Plan for Materials Science and Technology Innovation during the 13th Five-Year Plan, clarifying objectives, tasks and priorities. The plan proposes focusing on basic materials upgrading, strategic electronic materials, materials genome engineering, nanomaterials, advanced structural and composite materials, novel functional and intelligent materials, and talent development.

Among novel functional and intelligent materials, frontier materials such as superconductors, smart/bionic/meta-materials and extreme-environment materials are breakthrough priorities. As eco-materials, fully biodegradable materials are included, covering green lifecycle evaluation, environmentally friendly flame-retardant and purification materials, and engineering demonstration of high-quality, carbon-neutral fully biodegradable materials. Bio-based degradable materials are closely related and may also serve as next-generation biomedical materials—environmentally friendly, harmless to humans and pollution-free.

The plan outlines implementation mechanisms, funding methods and supporting innovation policies to address long-standing issues of good materials not being used effectively in China's materials industry.