China to promote delivery of technological innovation

The Minister of Science and Technology, Wan Gang, says the government is working to increase the speed with which China's technological innovations are transformed into practical applications. 

The remarks were made while the Minister was speaking to the media during the Two Sessions about the government's incentives for encouraging innovation.

Minister Wan Gang said the State Council has adopted a series of actions to help translate the results of technological innovation into practical applications. 

These actions include promoting the modification of various laws and regulations, including the Law of the Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements.

Reviewing the efforts of the past five years, Wan Gang said that a sign of China's progress in developing its science and technology industry was the increasingly diversified background of players in the market.

Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang answers questions at a press conference on speeding up the construction of innovative country on the sidelines of the first session of the 13th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2018. [Photo: Xinhua]

"We have seen significant progress in the transformation of the results of scientific and technological innovation, with its market value rising to 1.3 trillion RMB. The range of market players has expanded from enterprises to include universities and research institutions. The quantity of transformation has been growing rapidly. Statistics show that the quantity of transformation has seen a growth rate above 20%. And the results of some basic and cutting-edge research have been turned into practice."

When it comes to artificial intelligence technology, Wan said that AI is expected to reach into various aspects of life.

China first started research into AI technology back in the 1980s, and in recent years its efforts have paid off. 

Some of the country's largest tech enterprises have been leading the way, with Baidu focusing on driverless car technology, Alibaba looking into smart transportation, and Tencent looking at how AI can be applied to the provision of medical services.

Wan explained that to facilitate AI development, there is a need to consolidate basic research with technology transformation efforts.

"We need to accelerate the transformation of the results of AI innovation. We should promote the use of AI technology in industrial development, as well as various fields of social life, to solve the problems that most concern the people, in areas like security, health, and the environment. We should also pay attention to the social attributes of AI technology, and address challenges relating to social ethics, employment, privacy, and national security."

The Minister also said the government needs to address obstacles in the transformation process to improve the environment for innovation. 

"Issues happen in the transformation process, such as uncoordinated or mismatched policies of industry and the registration of property rights. We need to put relevant policies in place. Our next steps are to adopt more incentivizing policies." 

Wan said the government is looking at solutions for problems facing China's innovation industries.

He revealed that authorities will provide more favorable taxation policies, guarantee a stable income for researchers on major projects, and reward the successful transformation of innovation into practical applications.