A view of the Bund in Shanghai, east China. (PHOTO: VCG)

By LIU Yin, QI Liming, LIANG Yilian & WANG Jing

The recently concluded third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee called for deepening reform of the sci-tech system, improving the management of sci-tech programs, and reforming the mechanism for the transformation of sci-tech achievements. The plenary session reviewed and approved the Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization, proposing integrated reform of the education, science and technology and talent systems.

In this exclusive interview, Science and Technology Minister Yin Hejun talks to Science and Technology Daily about constructing a mechanism to support comprehensive innovation, the challenges to deepen sci-tech reform, as well as how to promote deep integration of sci-tech innovation and industrial innovation through reform.

Sci-tech modernization is the key to Chinese modernization

Q: The plenary session proposed to construct a system and mechanism that will support comprehensive innovation and gave priority to reform of the sci-tech system. What does that involve?

Yin: China's success demonstrates that reform is a key factor in determining the future of our country. Since the 18th CPC National Congress (in 2012), Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, with remarkable courage and insight, has personally designed, deployed, and promoted a series of major reforms, creating a new landscape for deepening reforms. The breadth, depth, and intensity of these reforms are unprecedented. The recent plenum, held amidst complex international and domestic situations and a new round of sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation, reflects the CPC Central Committee's determination and confidence in advancing reforms, signaling a new phase in the construction of Chinese modernization.

General Secretary Xi pointed out that the key to Chinese modernization lies in sci-tech modernization. Whether we can build a modern socialist country in all respects by the target date depends on achieving sci-tech self-reliance and self-strengthening. The CPC Central Committee places sci-tech innovation at the core of national development, implementing strategies to rejuvenate the country through science and education, strengthen it with talent, and drive development through innovation.

The 20th CPC National Congress (in 2022) laid out a strategic plan to build China into a strong sci-tech power by 2035. At this year's national science and technology conference, General Secretary Xi explained in depth why and how to build a strong sci-tech power, rallying the entire party and society. We must fully comprehend his strategic intentions, recognize that Chinese modernization must be supported by sci-tech modernization, and give full play to the foundational and strategic support role of technology.

This resolution integrated "education, science and technology, and talent advancement" in a single chapter, reflecting the high importance the CPC Central Committee gives to sci-tech innovation and its expectations. Sci-tech innovation has great potential to lead development but there are still many institutional shortcomings and weak points in its mechanism.

Reform of the sci-tech system is important for constructing a system and mechanism that supports comprehensive innovation and is a key measure to stimulate the innovative and creative vitality of entire society. To meet the new round of scientific and industrial revolution, accelerate China to become a strong sci-tech power, and ensure the development of new quality productive forces and high-quality development, we must strengthen the integration of sci-tech innovation and industrial innovation.

To enhance national competitiveness and respond to external risks and challenges, we must adhere to the dual drive of sci-tech innovation and institutional innovation, and accelerate high-level sci-tech self-reliance and self-strengthening.

Reform of the sci-tech system is a key part of comprehensively deepening reform

Q: China's sci-tech system reform has progressed significantly. The plenum focused on it as well. What's the next step in the reform? What are the prominent problems in the current sci-tech system reform?

Yin: Sci-tech system reform is a key part of comprehensively deepening reform. Since the third plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee (in 2013), a series of measures have been introduced, such as increasing R&D investment, accelerating the cultivation of young talents, and increasing support for start-ups, stimulating the innovative and entrepreneurial vitality of scientific researchers.

In response to new situations and requirements, the CPC Central Committee has strengthened centralized and unified leadership over science and technology work, established the Central Science and Technology Commission (CSTC), and reorganized the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), which meant a systematic restructuring of the national sci-tech leadership and management system.

Over the past year since the establishment of the CSTC, it has strengthened the coordination of policies, plans, and resources, improved the new type of whole-nation system, and accelerated the implementation of major national science and technology projects. It has overcome various barriers, cracking many tough nuts.

The effectiveness of national science and technology governance has been enhanced, decision-making efficiency has been improved, and China's sci-tech undertakings show a new atmosphere. China's Global Innovation Index ranking rose from 34th in 2012 to 12th in 2023, with our R&D expenditure ranking second in the world. Chinese researchers, high-level papers, and invention patents have been world-leading for many years. Significant achievements have been made in manned spaceflight, lunar exploration, BeiDou navigation, high-speed rail, mobile communications, new energy vehicles, deep-sea and deep-earth exploration. There are many other landmark achievements.

But while our science and technology undertakings show significant progress, we must also be aware that compared with the leading sci-tech powers in the world and given our goal of becoming a strong sci-tech power, our technological strength is still not strong enough, our system and mechanism are not yet sound, and the overall efficiency of the national innovation system is not yet high. The resolution highlights problem- and goal-oriented approaches to deepen reform of the science and technology system and points out the direction.

To address the mismatch between talent training and sci-tech innovation supply and demand, and the shortage of top sci-tech talents, the resolution emphasizes integrated reform of the education, science, and technology talent system. To address our relatively weak original innovation capabilities and dependence (on others) for key core technologies, it emphasizes strengthening organized basic research and encourages high-risk, high-value basic research.

To address the low level of organizational coordination and resource distribution, it emphasizes improving management of science and technology plans, adhering to the "Four Orientations," and optimizing the mechanism of major science and technology innovation.

To address the insufficient supply of high-quality science and technology, it emphasizes reforming the mechanism for the transformation of sci-tech achievements, strengthening the leading position of enterprises in sci-tech innovation, and promoting the integration of sci-tech innovation and industrial innovation.

Promoting new and greater breakthroughs in sci-tech reform and development

Q: What are we going to see in the field of technological innovation? What kind of key measures can we expect?

Yin: Effective deployment is just the start, and further implementation is crucial. MOST will enhance its political stance, strengthen its sense of responsibility and mission, and unify thoughts and actions with the CPC Central Committee's decision-making and deployment. The goal is to build China into a strong sci-tech power by 2035, and high-level sci-tech self-reliance and self-strengthening is the mainline. We will focus on "strategy, planning, policy, and service" — strengthening strategic planning, policy measures, scientific research forces, major tasks, resource platforms, and regional innovation. We will promote new and greater breakthroughs in science and technology reform and development.

•We will improve a new type of whole-nation system. Measures will be taken to strengthen the construction of national strategic sci-tech forces, optimize their positioning and layout, promote central-local collaboration in sci-tech innovation, and coordinate the construction of various sci-tech innovation platforms. We will also promote systematic, institutional, and collaborative development of sci-tech innovation forces, innovative elements' configuration, and talent teams.

•We will promote deep integration of sci-tech innovation and industrial innovation. We will focus on key links such as supporting the industrial chain, the leading position of enterprises, transformation of sci-tech achievements, and sci-tech finance. We will establish a policy system compatible with new quality productive forces.

•Integrated reform of education, science and technology talent systems will be coordinated. We will establish a discipline-setting adjustment mechanism and talent training model guided by scientific development and national strategic needs. We will implement more active, open, and effective talent policies, improve the system to ensure that researchers can focus on their work, delegate more autonomy to employing entities, and reduce the burden on talents.

•We will deepen sci-tech openness and cooperation. We will practice international science and technology cooperation initiatives, broaden government and private exchange and cooperation channels, focus on joint research to address global challenges, participate in and lead the formulation of international science and technology rules, and create a globally competitive open environment for sci-tech innovation.

Only reformers can advance, only innovators can thrive, and only those who reform and innovate will prevail. MOST will implement the plenary session's directives, advance reform through innovation, drive development through innovation, and deeply advance science and technology system reform with persistence and determination. We will address issues as they arise, eliminate obstacles, and accelerate the construction of an efficient, smooth, open, collaborative, and vibrant national innovation system, thus providing stronger sci-tech support for Chinese modernization. We will accelerate building China into a strong sci-tech power, providing stronger sci-tech support for Chinese modernization.

Promoting the integration of sci-tech and industrial innovation

Q: The plenum gave instructions for the integration of production, learning, and research, transformation of sci-tech achievements, and innovation ecosystems. How can reform achieve deep integration of sci-tech innovation and industrial innovation? What will MOST focus on?

Yin: High-quality development and new quality productive forces require advancing the integration of sci-tech and industrial innovation. At the national science and technology conference, General Secretary Xi clarified the foundation, key aspects, and pathways for integrating technological and industrial innovation, providing clear guidance for our work. MOST will focus on three aspects:

•Establishing the leading role of enterprises in sci-tech from a systematic level. Enterprises are the main subjects of innovation and the main force of innovation and creation. Building a strong sci-tech power requires a large number of innovative enterprises to lead industrial development. We must establish mechanisms to cultivate and expand leading technology enterprises, cultivate leading and fast-growing technology companies, and explore mechanisms for elevating enterprise projects to national projects. We must support enterprises to form innovation consortia with universities and research institutes, and promote integrated innovation across the industrial chain.

Meanwhile, we will encourage and support small and medium-sized technology enterprises to increase R&D investment, and raise the proportion of R&D expense deductions. We will consolidate and develop the public sector and encourage, support and guide the development of the non-public sector, treating private and state-owned enterprises equally and allowing those capable of undertaking significant national sci-tech research tasks. This will fully leverage the role of enterprises as the "question setters," "problem solvers," and "evaluators".

• Deepening reform of the mechanism for the commercialization of research achievements. Promoting the transformation and application of sci-tech achievements has always been a focus and difficulty of sci-tech reform. MOST has been continuously working in this area and exploring effective practices. We will improve the national technology transfer system, formulate policy documents to promote the transformation of sci-tech achievements in the new era, and deepen the reform of the ownership of official sci-tech achievements. Through property right incentives, we will stimulate the enthusiasm of scientific researchers to transform achievements.

Relying on our industrial base and super-large-scale market advantages, we will coordinate and promote the demonstration and application of major scientific research achievements, strengthen and expand national demonstration zones for the transformation of sci-tech achievements, and supply more high-level sci-tech for high-quality development.

•Optimizing the innovation ecosystem. Given our limited national financial resources, implementing major national scientific projects, building national strategic sci-tech forces and enhancing innovation capabilities depends on establishing a diversified investment mechanism. We must build a sci-tech financial system compatible with technological innovation and accelerate a sci-tech financial service system focused on venture capital for technology start-ups. We will guide capital to invest start-up technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises for the long term, and provide financial support for hard technology research, thereby channeling financial resources into the fertile ground of innovation. We will improve the national innovation policy system and accelerate an innovation ecosystem more compatible with new quality productive forces.

Advancing reform of science and technology plan management

Q: The plenary session proposed to improve the management of science and technology plans. How will MOST do this to produce more R&D results? How will you ensure high-quality sci-tech supply for high-quality development?

Yin: National science and technology plans are important carriers for the government to organize sci-tech innovation activities. They are also focal points for the reform of the science and technology system, which is an acute concern of the sci-tech community.

In the early stages, in response to problems such as duplication and distribution of sci-tech resources, MOST promoted reform of national science and technology plan management, achieving positive results. Going forward, MOST will conscientiously follow the requirements of the third plenum and advance the reform of science and technology plan management, focusing on three aspects:

•Strengthening the coordination and layout of science and technology resources. Following the deployment of the CSTC, MOST, in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance and other departments, has established a mechanism for coordinated arrangement and use of central science and technology funds based on the principle of "determining tasks according to needs and funds according to tasks." We will continue to strengthen the overall planning and layout of sci-tech innovation across the entire chain and all fields, strengthening organized basic research, and coordinating and strengthening key core technology research, solidifying the foundation of sci-tech innovation.

•Stimulating the innovative and creative vitality of researchers. In recent years, MOST has introduced many policy measures to give greater autonomy to research institutions and researchers, and the researchers' burden has been reduced. Next, on one hand we will continue to delegate power and enable researchers, giving them greater decision-making power over technical routes, funding allocation, and resource scheduling, expanding the scope of the "package system," and providing better institutional guarantees for researchers to focus on their studies.

On the other hand, we will deepen the implementation of new methods such as "the open competition mechanism to select the best candidates," "horse racing system," and "lead firm governance system," reducing assessment frequency, strengthening periodic assessments, and improving project implementation performance.

•Improving the responsibility system. Following the reform requirements, all national science and technology plan projects have been transferred from MOST to relevant departments. The ministry will focus on the front-end arrangement, mid-term inspection, and back-end check and acceptance.

In the next step, we will follow goal- and application-oriented approaches, consolidating the management responsibilities of competent departments, professional institutions, and undertaking units, ensuring that competent departments effectively take responsibility, strictly control project progress and risks, and ensure timely completion of tasks.