SCIO briefing on fully implementing new development philosophy and ensuring a good start of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025)
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E-mail China.org.cn, March 12, 2021
Bloomberg:
I would like to ask about strengthening China's science and technology. What will be the priorities during the 14th Five-Year Plan period to this end? What will China do to boost the investment into science and technology? Do you have an expectation for its amount? Thank you.
Ning Jizhe:
Strengthening China's science and technology is a very important topic, and the speakers have all talked about it more or less just now. The country will accelerate it during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, including this year. Specifically, we will improve our strategic scientific and technological strength, boost basic research, applied research, and the transfer and transformation of scientific and technological outcomes, and further improve China's core industrial competitiveness. As for the specific projects and investments that you just asked about, there is a target set out in the 14th Five-Year Plan that China's R&D spending will increase by more than 7% per year, which is expected to account for a higher percentage of GDP than that during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. The figure already increased fast during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, taking up 2.4% of GDP last year. We will strive to surpass it during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.
In terms of key projects, first, the construction of national laboratories should be accelerated, and the system of national key laboratories should be reorganized.
Second, we will facilitate basic research, including formulating and implementing a ten-year action plan, and establishing a number of research centers for basic disciplines.
Third, we will further plan and implement the Sci-Tech Innovation 2030 Agenda to seek breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields.
Fourth, in terms of new infrastructure construction, some of the previous major scientific and technological infrastructure projects are now operational, such as the Tianyan Telescope built up through a long period of effort. We will build more, and advance scientific and technological innovation in artificial intelligence, quantum science, brain science and other sectors.
Fifth, in terms of international centers for science and technology innovation and national science centers, we will develop international centers for science and technology innovation in Beijing, Shanghai, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, as well as comprehensive national science centers in Huairou, Zhangjiang, Hefei, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area with greater efforts. We will also develop a nationally influential scientific and technological innovation center in Chengdu and Chongqing based on a quality plan.
Sixth, we will improve a number of multi-level innovation platforms, including national industrial innovation centers, technological innovation centers, manufacturing innovation centers, engineering research centers, and technological centers of enterprises.
Seventh, we will organize and implement demonstration projects for integrated innovation. As enterprises are the mainstay of technological innovation, we will motivate large enterprises to share their resources, scenarios, applications, and innovation needs with small and medium-sized enterprises to create an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship based on industrial chains and supply chains. We will motivate enterprises to increase R&D spending with tax incentives. Now, over 70% of all R&D funding comes from enterprises, and we will make that proportion even higher. At last, we will continue to support mass entrepreneurship and innovation, and construct demonstration bases for innovation and entrepreneurship. Thank you.
Hu Zucai:
China spent a total of 2.44 trillion yuan in R&D in 2020, accounting for 2.4% of its GDP, a record high in history and maintaining its position as the second in the world. The draft outline aims for China's R&D spending to increase by more than 7% per year. Total R&D spending will reach 3.76 trillion yuan by 2025 if it grows at 7% every year. Of course, we have calculated it at the current prices in 2025, not at a constant price. It is a quite big increase, 1.32 trillion yuan more than in 2020 and higher than that during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. As you may have noticed, this time in the draft outline, we have put basic research in a more important position, and elaborated it in a special section. We have also, for the first time, set an indicator -- the proportion of basic research expenditure to R&D expenditure -- in the draft outline. This figure was 6.16% in 2020, much less than that of developed countries. The draft outline proposes that it will reach over 8% by 2025 during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, a very positive direction to work towards. Spending in this area reached 150.4 billion yuan in 2020, and is expected to reach about 280 billion yuan in 2025 (calculated at the constant price in 2020), and we will strive to make it even higher. It sends a clear message that we will value basic research more. Thank you.
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