By Ma Mingjie, Department of Techno-Economic Research, DRC

Research Report No.98, 2016 (Total 4981)2016-08-01

Abstract: The findings from the first-time nationwide survey conducted on corporate innovations showed that China’s innovation policies have made positive headway but are still facing some problems. The reasons are mainly due to high requirements for market access, limited awareness rate as well as cumbersome and complex procedures. The function of innovation policies is to lower innovation costs of enterprises, but it has no way to help those companies with no intentions on that. Policies intended to stimulate innovation turned out to be restrained by lack of innovation enthusiasm. This is the dilemma facing China’s innovation policies. Deeply influenced by the policies are enterprises and industries with dynamic R&D activities, while the weak links of innovation policies lie in small-sized firms and less-developed areas. In order to enhance corporate motivation for innovation, it is necessary to overcome the three big obstacles of low innovation profits, high innovation costs and innovation fund shortage. The fundamental approach to providing impetus to enterprises for innovation is to accelerate market reform. Innovation policies should focus on tapping new fund sources, reducing expenditure, removing restraints and expanding the coverage of enterprises to get benefits from these policies. To motivate small- and micro-sized companies and startup businesses to make innovations, we should implement a series of policies to boost innovations and support small- and micro-sized enterprises as well as startup businesses.

Key words: innovation survey, innovation policies, innovation motivation, innovation costs