Abstract: Based on an analysis of the three values of crop transgenic technology， its instrumental value might be manifested in three aspects—efficiency， benefit seeking and some progressiveness in environmental protection. From the perspective of its ecological value， the ecological balance could be broken owing to the pursuit of local value for efficiency and isolated value for profit seeking. Moreover， the risk of violating the species boundaries likely results in new environmental troubles. An analysis of its social value leads us to such issues as interest conflicts between Chinese enterprises and foreign enterprises and food safety. It can be concluded that a national development strategy of crop transgenic technology should be built upon a combination of the instrumental value， ecological value and social value of technology.

Key words: crop, transgenic technology, instrumental value, ecological value, social value