China will extend the implementation of a series of pro-innovation reform measures to further drive innovation and creativity, the State Council’s executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang decided on Dec 5.

Reform measures in boosting innovation have been piloted in eight Chinese cities and regions, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Shanghai and Guangdong. The first pilot program covering 13 policy measures were rolled out nationwide in 2017.

President Xi Jinping stressed the need to achieve breakthroughs and gain replicable experience in key areas, and foster a number of innovation platforms that lead the way as exemplars. Premier Li Keqiang underlined the importance for the government to level the playing field and provide better services to businesses, particularly in the areas of innovation.

“It has been years since the wider implementation of the central government’s pro-innovation policy measures, yet there is still a feeling among scientists and researchers that the delivery of relevant policies has fallen short in some respects,” Premier Li said at the meeting. “We must review and address this problem promptly. Wider application of these policy incentives will help catalyze greater creativity and innovation.”

It was decided during the meeting that another batch of 23 reform measures will be rolled out to mobilize innovation resources, incentivize innovation activities and nurture new drivers of growth.

A number of reform measures will be rolled out across the country.

More efforts will be made to incentivize the commercialization of R&D findings. Commercialization professionals will participate in the whole process. Universities and research institutes will be encouraged to participate, through commercial deals, in business research on technological breakthroughs.

New fin-tech services will be introduced to explore more financing channels for small and medium-sized tech companies, including asset-light firms and firms yet to make profits. Local government equity funds will be channeled to support seed and early stage high-tech startups. Insurance companies will be encouraged to develop products that cover patent enforcement and patent infringement to forestall patent holders’ losses from IPR violations.

Market-based operations of State-owned scientific research instruments and equipment will be promoted. Mechanisms will be established to allow for innovation-related decision-making on a trial-and-error basis.

It was also decided at the meeting that the three reform measures, which have so far been piloted in one or two places, will be extended to all the above-mentioned eight cities and regions. Such measures include granting scientists and researchers a certain share of ownership of their findings proportionate to their job positions, setting up science and technology innovation sectors in regional equity markets, and allowing greater autonomy for universities administered by local governments to attract talents and confer academic titles.

Premier Li called for careful monitoring and evaluations in the process of wider application of the above mentioned measures. Based on the experience gained, policies will be finetuned to promote deeper reform and enable technological innovation to play a greater role in promoting high quality development.