Visitors take a close look at the lunar samples at an exhibition highlighting China's sci-tech development during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. (PHOTO: VCG)

By CHEN Chunyou

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, China has attached great importance to sci-tech innovation, and has introduced measures to promote the commercialization of sci-tech research findings countrywide.

According to Wang Zhigang, Chinese minister of science and technology, the reform of the mechanism for evaluating sci-tech achievements has progressed. The rights for use, disposal, and profit distribution of sci-tech achievements have been delegated to universities and research institutions at a quicker pace.

In order to perfect the innovation ecosystem, a guideline to improve the evaluation mechanism for sci-tech achievements was issued, in which the establishment of a diversified evaluation system involving the government, social organizations, enterprises, and investment and financing institutions was put forward to motivate researchers, said Wang in the preface of Guide for the Commercialization of Sci-tech Achievements.

In the preface, Wang said the sci-tech achievements have offered solid support for economic and social development. For example, the commercial use of 5G technology can be seen in smart manufacturing, healthcare, energy, agriculture, education and finance. In addition, the pollution control technologies in water pollution and air pollution have been upgraded, while R&D of treatments and vaccines for COVID-19 has effectively protected people's lives. The BeiDou Satellite global network has also played a bigger role in transportation and urban construction.

China will deepen the implementation of innovation-driven development strategy. The integration of basic research, applied research and technological innovation will be promoted to accelerate the development of strategic emerging industries, Wang said in the preface.

Moreover, the service system for commercialization of sci-tech achievements will be further improved, such as advancing the building of a technology exchange market, technology transfer institutes and new R&D institutes, as well as accelerating the building of national platforms for providing and sharing information on sci-tech achievements. The small and medium-sized enterprises will be encouraged to be active players in sci-tech innovation and commercialization of sci-tech achievements.

In addition, the financial institutions, such as banks, insurance and bonds, will be further encouraged to enhance the support of commercialization of sci-tech achievements, and social capital will also be pooled to invest in this action. Wang said that a strict intellectual property rights protection system has been implemented in China. Enterprises, universities and researchers are encouraged to produce high-quality and high-value outcomes, which will help improve the efficiency of commercialization of sci-tech achievements.

Facing the journey ahead, Wang stressed that it is required to speed up the pace of technological and institutional innovation, and provide a steady supply of innovative sci-tech achievements for high-quality economic and social development.