Published by ChinaMNC · Bobai
China’s New Push to Integrate Tech and Industry: What Foreign Founders Need to Know
A practical guide for foreign founders on China’s latest policy to deepen the integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation, covering enterprise-led R&D, funding, talent, and market access.
China’s New Push to Integrate Tech and Industry: What Foreign Founders Need to Know
The Chinese government has issued a new policy opinion aimed at deepening the integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation. For foreign founders registering or operating a company in China, this signals a more coordinated approach to R&D, industrial upgrading, and enterprise support. Below is a practical summary of the key measures, based only on the published source.
Overall Direction
The policy sets a goal of building a modern industrial system and developing new quality productive forces. It emphasizes an innovation system led by enterprises and coordinated among industry, academia, and research institutions. The aim is to connect the entire chain—from basic research to commercialization—and to strengthen the pathway from scientific strength to industrial and economic strength.
Key principles include:
- Systematic planning that anticipates new trends in the technology revolution and industrial transformation.
- Balancing scientific supply with demand pull, deploying innovation chains around industrial chains and vice versa.
- Strengthening the principal role of enterprises in innovation and channeling innovation resources toward them.
- Removing ideological and institutional barriers through reform.
Enterprise-Led Innovation and Project Organization
The policy calls for making national science and technology programs more industry-oriented. It requires regularly soliciting enterprise needs, increasing the number of experts from enterprises and venture capital institutions in guideline drafting, project review, and acceptance. Enterprises are encouraged to lead projects, with mechanisms such as “open competition” and “owner responsibility” systems, milestone management, and phased funding. Project acceptance will assess both technology application and market performance, integrating R&D and industrialization goals.
For foreign founders, this suggests that participating in national or local research projects may become more accessible if your company can demonstrate clear industrial application value. It also indicates a stronger emphasis on market validation rather than purely academic outcomes.
Commercializing Research Results
Measures include:
- For national science and technology projects with clear industrial application goals, enterprises should generally lead implementation and commercialization.
- Universities and research institutes are supported to set up technology transfer offices and provide services in intellectual property, incubation, and tech finance.
- Reforms will grant researchers more rights over job-related scientific achievements and allow asset management flexibility.
- Universities and institutes are encouraged to license results to small and medium-sized enterprises on a “use first, pay later” basis.
- A national integrated technology market will be developed, with professional technology transfer institutions and technology managers.
Foreign-invested companies may benefit from these channels if they collaborate with universities or research institutes and seek to license or commercialize technologies.
Scenario-Driven Innovation and Key Technology Breakthroughs
The policy promotes demonstration of new technologies, products, and scenarios, with local governments opening application scenarios in government services, smart cities, and rural construction. It also targets decisive breakthroughs in key core technologies in integrated circuits, industrial machine tools, high-end instruments, advanced materials, and biomanufacturing. Efforts will strengthen basic components, key software, and basic materials.
For founders in deep tech or hardware, these priority areas may offer opportunities for collaboration and market entry, though foreign participation may be subject to specific regulations.
Emerging and Future Industries
The policy supports original and disruptive innovation to cultivate strategic emerging industries such as new energy, new materials, and aerospace. It also aims to develop future industries in quantum technology, biomanufacturing, hydrogen and nuclear fusion, brain-computer interfaces, embodied intelligence, and 6G. The approach includes exploring multiple technical routes, typical application scenarios, and viable business models to accelerate industrialization and commercialization.
Foreign founders in these fields should monitor local implementation policies, as pilot programs and support measures may vary by region.
Transforming Traditional Industries
Major technological upgrading and large-scale equipment renewal programs will be implemented. The policy encourages industrial internet innovation, digital-real economy integration, and intelligent, green, and integrated manufacturing. It also calls for agricultural science and technology breakthroughs and a comprehensive “AI+” initiative to empower all industries.
This suggests opportunities for foreign companies providing advanced manufacturing solutions, automation, or AI applications.
Enhancing Enterprise Innovation Capacity
Specific measures include:
- Enterprises will have regular channels to participate in national science and technology and industrial development strategy, planning, and policy making.
- The National Natural Science Foundation will pilot opening to private enterprises, and enterprise innovation joint funds will expand.
- State-owned enterprises are encouraged to establish R&D reserve funds with independent accounting, exemption from value-preservation assessments, and error tolerance.
- Small and medium-sized tech enterprises are encouraged to increase R&D investment, with a higher super deduction ratio for R&D expenses.
- Enterprises are supported to lead the construction of science and technology innovation platforms and bases.
- National major science infrastructure, large research instruments, and national science data centers will be more open to enterprises.
- Talent programs will increase support for enterprises, and enterprise postdoctoral stations will be strengthened.
Foreign founders should note that some of these measures may be directed at domestic enterprises, but the general trend is toward greater openness and support for enterprise innovation.
Cultivating Tech Enterprises and Collaboration
The policy aims to optimize the cultivation of leading tech enterprises, support high-tech enterprises, and improve support for specialized and sophisticated “little giant” enterprises and manufacturing champions. It encourages collaboration among large, small, and medium-sized enterprises, with large enterprises opening R&D platforms, application scenarios, and supply chains to smaller ones and giving priority to innovative products from SMEs.
It also supports leading tech enterprises to act as “chain leaders” and form innovation consortia with universities and research institutes. Enterprises are encouraged to participate in university research and talent training and to jointly build R&D institutions and projects.
Finance, Talent, and Platforms
The policy outlines a tech finance system covering the full lifecycle of tech enterprises. It mentions the role of national venture capital guidance funds, government-funded and state-owned venture capital funds focusing on early-stage, small, long-term, and hard-tech investments, with long-cycle assessment, differentiated regulation, and exit mechanisms. It also promotes the “innovation points system,” a high-quality “tech board” in the bond market, and a tech insurance policy system.
On talent, it calls for coordinated education, adjusting academic disciplines with industry input, promoting university-enterprise joint programs and dual-mentor systems, and supporting researchers to take temporary posts, part-time roles, or leave to start businesses. Enterprises are encouraged to hire industry mentors and professors, and young tech talent and tech entrepreneurs are supported.
For platforms, the policy plans to coordinate national emerging industry innovation centers, industrial technology engineering centers, technology innovation centers, and manufacturing innovation centers. It also supports proof-of-concept centers, pilot testing platforms, and new R&D institutions.
Market Environment, IP, and Evaluation
Reforms include removing unreasonable barriers to innovative products, piloting relaxed market access in new business forms, and exploring “commitment-based entry” and “sandbox regulation.” Laws and regulations in AI and biotechnology will be improved, along with science ethics rules.
Intellectual property protection will be strengthened, including trade secrets and new business forms. The patent open licensing system will be fully implemented. Standard-setting will be enhanced for national and international standards in frontier fields.
Incentive policies include tax breaks for innovation,尽职免责 mechanisms for technology transfer and venture capital, and negative lists. State-owned enterprise assessment will be improved, and university and research institute evaluations will include industry-academia collaboration and technology transfer outcomes.
Local Pilot Programs
Local governments are encouraged to pilot deep integration based on their own strengths. Coordination between central and local authorities will be strengthened, and various innovation functional zones, including national high-tech zones and independent innovation demonstration zones, will pilot policies. International and regional science and technology innovation centers and qualified localities will carry out reform pilots.
Foreign founders should watch local implementation details, as pilot programs may create new opportunities or requirements.
This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.