The Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND; Chinese: 国防科学技术工业委员会) was a civilian ministry 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 super bureaucracy called the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and renamed as the State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND).[1] Former COSTIND deputy director, Chen Qiufa, was named as the head of SASTIND.[2]
According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, the China Atomic Energy Authority was part of COSTIND.[3]
According to the Plan for Restructuring the State Council passed by the First Session of the Eleventh National People's Congress in 2008, the Science, Technology and Industry Commission for National Defense of the People's Republic of China has been superseded by the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.