Boost cooperative innovation

However, foreign-funded research institutions also present great challenges to domestic innovation. Technological dependency has been deepened, and foreign-funded research institutions attract talent, technology and capital, which may enhance transnational corporations' control of domestic industrial technology development.

Foreign research institutions now dominate some domestic markets, thanks to their abundant capital, strong technology, advanced marketing strategies, as well as global production and distribution networks, which have remarkably hindered the development of domestic brands.

The competition for domestic talent has also been intensified, with most domestic research talent attracted to foreign-funded research institutions due to the higher salaries, better working environments, and abundant research and management experience they offer.

With the government seeking to transform the economic structure and boost domestic innovation, there have been fresh demands for foreign-funded research institutions to be integrated into the national innovation system. This requires overall planning to further open the national science and technology plan to foreign-funded research institutions by determining through investigations the development situation and policy needs of foreign-funded research institutions. The authorities should also support qualified foreign-funded research institutions and domestic enterprises and research institutions jointly applying for national science and technology R& D or innovation projects.

Foreign-funded research institutions' high-end R& D and cooperative innovation should be encouraged. The authorities should encourage transnational corporations and research institutions to establish high-end R& D centers and innovation bases in China through incentive finance and taxation policies. The authorities should promote foreign-funded research institutions to cooperate with domestic enterprises and colleges.

The authorities should also encourage domestic enterprises to increase their investment in R&D and innovation to improve their own innovation capabilities, and domestic enterprises should track the technological development of foreign-funded research institutions to seek cooperation opportunities.

The article was first published on Study Times.