The Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND; ) was a civilian commission within the State Council of the People's Republic of China, responsible for setting policy for defense procurement. It was considered as the Chinese counterpart of DARPA of the US. The ministry was formed in 1982 to centralize Chinese defense procurement and technology whose responsibility had been distributed among several agencies. In March 2008, COSTIND was merged into a new ministry called the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and renamed as the State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND). The final-term COSTIND deputy director, Chen Qiufa, was named as the head of SASTIND.
History
In August 1982, COSTIND was formed by merging the National Defense Science and Technology Commission (NDSTC), the National Defense Industries Office (which was in the State Council's purview), and the Office of the Science, Technology, and Armaments Commission (which was in the purview of the Central Military Commission).
In 1998, the government split COSTIND into the General Armament Department of the People's Liberation Army and the "new" COSTIND, reporting directly to the State Council.
The China Atomic Energy Authority was part of COSTIND.
In March 2008, COSTIND was renamed the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND).