China on verge of stem cell breakthrough: Top scientist

China is on the verge of achieving a breakthrough in stem cell research, says a top scientist in the field.

Zhou Qi, chief scientist with the stem cell research project at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), said Chinese scientists are expecting a major scientific breakthrough to be made within the next decade, reports the China Daily.

"We are now close to the day when we will be able to hail a breakthrough in this important technology.

"China needs five to 10 years to shift from basic research to clinical application and another 10 years to realise large-scale clinical application," he said.

Going forward, the priority will be to focus on stem cell regulation, core mechanisms for stem-cell therapies and standardized applications of stem cells, said Zhou.

Zhou said China has achieved the fastest development in stem cell research of any country during the past 10 years.

He said China would like to cooperate with international qualified repositories of stem cell material in the near future.