Funding programmes in Jiangsu province

The High- and New-Technology Enterprise (HNTE) status is one of China’s core innovation tax policies under China’s Corporate Income Tax Law. The concept of HNTE status emerged in the 1990s to encourage investment in high-tech and R&D areas through a series of benefits including fiscal and tax incentives. The HNTE status offers qualified companies a significant reduction of the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) rate.

Eligibility requirements:

According to the latest revision of the Management Measures for the Recognition of High- and New-Technology Enterprises issued in January 2016 by MOST, MOF and SAT, enterprises must meet the following requirements in order to qualify to HNTE status:

• Being registered in Mainland China for at least one year before the application is submitted
• Own IP rights of the key technologies which show core support to the enterprise’s main products (services). Such rights may be obtained through independent R&D, transfer, donation, or mergers and acquisitions;
• The technologies which show core support to the enterprise’s main products (services) shall belong to one of the areas outlined in the Catalogue of High- and New-Technology Areas Specifically Supported by the State;
• At least 10% of the total number of the enterprise’s employees should be engaged in R&D and related activities;
• R&D expenditures in the last three financial years should account to a certain percentage of the enterprise’s total sales revenue in the same period:
• Over 5% if total revenue is below 50 million RMB;
• Over 4% if total revenue is between 50 and 200 million RMB;
• Over 3% if total revenue exceeds 200 million RMB.

In addition, at least 60% of the enterprise’s total R&D expenditure must be incurred in China

• Income derived from high- and new-technology products (services) should amount to at least 60% of the enterprise’s total revenue;
• The assessment of the enterprise’ innovation capabilities is in line with relevant standards;
• The enterprise should have not occurred any major safety or quality incident in the previous year, and should have not had any behaviour against the law

What are the benefits?

• Reduction of the Corporate Income Tax (CIT), from the standard 25% tax rate to 15%, regardless of the company’s investment type and where its headquarters are located.

Once approved, the HNTE status will last for three years, after which the application needs to be re-submitted.

When and where are application calls published?

Applications are opened after an official announcement is published on the web portal of the Jiangsu Provincial S&T Department, usually every year in the first months. The application period is usually divided into two or three batches, each with its own application deadlines.

Method of application:

Applicants must first conduct a self-evaluation of the eligibility criteria, and upload it through its account on the national HNTE Certification Management Platform. The applicant will then receive a 22-digit code by relevant authorities if the self-evaluation is compliant with the eligibility criteria for HNTE status.

Once new annual applications are announced, the applicant should first register through the website of the Jiangsu Provincial Technology Exchange Centre. Once approved, the official application must be submitted on the HNTE Recognition Management Platform (Innocom website).

International participation: figures and opportunities

Domestic and foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) are equally eligible to apply as long as they comply with the requirements listed above. However, it is commonly believed that the eligibility requirements might be more challenging to meet for FIEs. *

Figures, however, show that FIEs are actively participating in the programme in Jiangsu province. A large number of approved HNTEs (around 5%) in 2018 were foreign-invested enterprises (see link below). These included Sino-foreign JVs and also wholly foreign-owned enterprises. A few examples are:

• Alfa Laval Flow Equipment Kunshan Co., Ltd. (Swedish WFOE)
• Rose Plastic (Kunshan) Co.,Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Kirchhoff Automotive (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Kern-Liebers (Taicang) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Rosenberger Technology (Kunshan) Co. Ltd. (German WFOE)
• KATHREIN Automotive Products (Suzhou) Co., Ltd (German WFOE)
• Faist Precision Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (Italian WFOE)
• Marsilli Automation Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd (Italian WFOE)
• Delta Plus (China) Co. Ltd (French WFOE)
• Mersen Advanced Graphites (Kunshan) Co., Ltd. (French WFOE)
• Faurecia (Wuxi) Seating Components Co., Ltd. (French WFOE)
• DSM Eternal Resins (Kunshan) Co., Ltd. (Dutch-Taiwan JV)
• UPM (China) Co., Ltd (Finnish WFOE)
• VCST Automotive Components (Changzhou) Co, Ltd. (Belgian WFOE)
• SIG Combibloc (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (Swiss WFOE)
• Raytheon Power Machinery (Suzhou) Co., Ltd (UK WFOE)
• Pollmann Mechatronics (Kunshan) Co., Ltd (Austrian WFOE)
• Miba Precision Components (China) Co.,Ltd (Austrian WFOE)
• Delstar Technologies (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (US WFOE)
• Yingtemei Photo-Electric (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (US WFOE)
• Aksa Power Generation (China) Co., Ltd. (Turkish WFOE)
• U-COAT Suzhou Corporation (Japan-South Korea JV)
• Glory Denshi Kogyo (Suzhou) Ltd. (Japan WFOE)
• IHI-Sullair Compression Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (Japan-US JV)
• SPG Motor (SUZHOU) Co., Ltd. (South Korean WFOE)

* Note: for instance, The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China in its Position Papers argues that the requirement on core IP may create an uneven playing field between domestic and international companies. This would be because the main technologies of the Chinese affiliates of foreign companies in part may still rely on the main technologies and products initially developed outside China and is still owned there, despite these companies now playing an increasingly important role in the Chinese innovation ecosystem.

Useful links:

2018 application announcement

2018 list of results (4^th batch)

2018 list of results (1^st batch)

2017 application announcement

The High- and New-Technology Enterprise (HNTE) Cultivation Fund is a fund established by the Jiangsu Provincial S&T Department to support the growth of MSMEs that aim to apply to the HNTE status. Selected enterprises will receive funding or subsidies according to their development needs.

Target:

High-tech enterprises (especially MSMEs) with plans to apply to the national HNTE status in the short-term.

Eligibility requirements:

• The applicant shall be an enterprise who has been officially registered within Jiangsu province for over 1 year, and which has never been granted HNTE status since 2008;
• Own IP rights of the key technologies which show core support to the enterprise’s main products (services). Such rights may be obtained through independent R&D, transfer, donation, or mergers and acquisitions;
• The technologies which show core support to the enterprise’s main products (services) shall belong to one of the areas outlined in the Catalogue of High- and New-Technology Areas Specifically Supported by the State;
• At least 5% of the total number of the enterprise’s employees should be engaged in R&D and related activities;
• R&D expenditures in the last two financial years should account to at least 3% of the enterprise’s total sales revenue in the same period. In addition, at least 60% of the enterprise’s total R&D expenditure must be incurred in China.
• Income derived from high- and new-technology products (services) should amount to at least 50% of the enterprise’s total revenue;
• The assessment of the enterprise’ innovation capabilities is in line with relevant standards;
• The enterprise should have not occurred any major safety or quality incident in the previous year, and should have not had any behaviour against the law.

What are the benefits?

Funding and subsidies will be made available to selected enterprises according to their specific development needs, although relevant regulations do not provide specific details.

When and where are calls published? And method of application

Applications can be submitted at any time of the year to the municipal or district-level S&T authorities. Candidates will be selected from each jurisdiction in Jiangsu after peer review and according to a series of factors specified in relevant regulations (e.g. number of selected candidates in the previous year from the same district/municipality, how many were then successfully granted national HNTE status, how many of these were MSMEs, etc.).

Lists of selected candidates will be announced on the website of the Jiangsu Provincial S&T Department (link to latest 2018 results below).

International participation: opportunities and figures

Around 3,000-4,000 enterprises are selected every year (3,735 in 2018). Although the vast majority are Chinese domestic MSMEs, a few instances of wholly foreign-owned enterprises or Sino-European JVs, such as Ponzini Health and Beauty High-Tech (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (Italian WFOE); Marsilli Automation Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd (Italian WFOE); Afriso Measurement Control Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE); GMICOU Thermal Technology (Huai’an) Co., Ltd (German WFOE); Jacobs (Suzhou) Vehicle Control Systems Co.,Ltd. (US WFOE); SPG Motor (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (South Korean WFOE); Getec Automotive Technology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. (Sino-German JV), etc.

Useful links:

Management Measures for the Jiangsu Province HNTE Cultivation Fund (Trial)

2018 list of winners

2017 list of winners

Similarly to the National Engineering Research Technology Centres under the Bases and Talents Programme, the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centre is a status given to certain Jiangsu-based entities with strong conditions and capacities for innovation, dedicated to market- and industry-oriented engineering R&D, verification, application and integration of core technologies in key areas. Being recognised as Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centre guarantees financial support from the Jiangsu Provincial Development and Reform Commission for the establishment of the facility and purchase of equipment, together with particular support when applying to other provincial- or national-level funding programmes.

Target:

High- and New-Technology Enterprises; universities; and research structures. Joint applications from enterprises and universities are encouraged.

Eligibility requirements:

• In line with provincial priorities and needs for socio-economic development;
• Possession of solid basis for applied research and development in the corresponding field;
• Strong records of technology transfer, and possession of major technology results with good prospects for commercialisation in one or multiple industries;
• Possession of innovation and industry-university-research cooperation mechanisms;
• Possession of at least part of the equipment and infrastructure needed for the commercialisation and engineering of the technology result; and availability to provide additional support to the research facility during its establishment period or operational phase;
• Possession of a solid technology and management team and leadership. The facility’s director should hold a senior engineer professional title;
• Previous experience in establishing national- or provincial-level platforms or projects, or in formulating standards;
• Limits on the number of applicants that can be recommended every time by district- or municipal-level administrations.

What are the benefits?

Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centre will receive financial support from the Jiangsu Provincial Development and Reform Commission for the establishment of the facility, and for the purchase of the equipment and devices needed for their designed activities. Selected facilities are also expected to receive strong support from local authorities when applying to other provincial- or national-level funding programmes, such as NKPs or Megaprojects.

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis (in the first half of the year), on the web portal of the Jiangsu Provincial Development and Reform Commission. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 6-8 weeks from the date of publication of the call.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Nearly the totality of the 157 approved Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centres in 2018 belonged to Chinese domestic universities, enterprises, or research structures. There were only two exceptions: and Zhang Jiang Automation (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd, wholly owned by the Taiwanese Pai-Ying group; and Everbright Environmental Protection Technology Equipment (Changzhou) Co., Ltd – owned by the Hong Kong-based Everbright International. Despite such low figures, European multinational companies are believed to be well-positioned and therefore strongly encouraged to apply to this programme.

Useful links:

Management Measures of Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centres

2018 call for application

2018 list of winners

The Jiangsu Industry and Information Technology Transformation and Upgrading Special Fund is a dedicated fund established by the Jiangsu Provincial Industry and Information Technology Department to boost the industrial transformation and upgrading of local enterprises, thus accelerating the quality and effectiveness of the province’s economic development. Specifically, every year it grants compensations (subsidies, loan interest subsidies, awards) or paid support (equity participation, debt investment, etc.) to projects in five main areas: high-end industrial development; enterprise technology transformation; green development; productive service industry; and digitalisation and smartification. The specific areas funded vary every year and are specified in annual calls. The specific amount of funding will depend on the value of the project launched by the enterprise.

Target:

Enterprises.

Eligibility requirements:

Applicants generally should meet the following requirements:

• Enterprise with independent legal personality in Jiangsu province, and with regular operations for more than 12 months;
• Solid financial management procedures;
• Operates in areas or sectors in line with national and provincial industrial policies and priorities, with good prospects of socio-economic spillover;
• Regularly discloses enterprise information as stipulated by the Interim Regulations on Enterprise Information Disclosure (State Council Order No. 654), and with good credit;
• Should have not received any other provincial-level (or above) financial funding support in the year in which the application is submitted, and at the same time past projects which received funding should have been completed;
• Applicants generally can submit only 1 application per year;
• Other requirements indicated in annual calls for application.

What are the benefits?

Two types of support can be granted:

• Compensations, including grants, subsidies, loan interests, awards, etc;
• Paid support, including equity participation, debt investment, etc;

The specific amount of funding will depend on the total government budget available in that year, and on the type of project for which the application is submitted. In general, projects involving investment in solid assets will receive a certain percentage of the total investment amount or of loan interests; other types of projects generally will receive subsidies amounting to maximum 30% of the total project’s budget.

When and where are calls published?

Calls are published every year (usually in June/July) on the web portal of the Jiangsu Provincial Finance Department. The deadline for submitting applications is usually within 4-5 weeks from the date of publication of the annual calls.

Method of application:

Applications must be submitted online through the Jiangsu Province Industry and Information System Big Data Supporting Platform. An official account must be created. Applications must be reviewed and pre-approved by country/district/or municipal-level authorities, before being submitted to the provincial level ones.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Hundreds of projects are selected every year. International participation tends to be high in industrial transformation projects: large evidence of projects assigned to FIEs, including WFOEs, was identified both in 2017 and 2018 (compensations granted usually amount to 500,000-900,000 RMB per project). German WFOEs were the most active. A few examples include:

• Bosch Automotive Components (Suzhou) Co., Ltd (German WFOE)
• Phoenix Contact Asia Pacific Electric (Nanjing) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• SUSPA (Nanjing) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• KACO (Wuxi) Sealing Systems Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Stabilus (Jiangsu) Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Kern-Liebers (Taicang) Co.,Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Swoboda Kunshan Co.,Ltd. (German WFOE0
• KOEPFER (Jintan) Transmission Technology Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Thyssenkrupp Valvetrain China Ltd. (German WFOE)
• LEONI Cable (China) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Baerlocher Plastic Additives (Jiangsu) Co.,Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Bosch Automotive Diesel Systems Co., Ltd. (Sino-German JV)
• Philips Healthcare (Suzhou) Co.,Ltd. (Dutch WFOE)
• Sogefi (Suzhou) Auto Parts Co.,Ltd. (Italian WFOE)
• Brembo (Nanjing) Brake Systems Co.,Ltd (Sino-Italian JV)
• Nanjing IVECO Motor Co., Ltd (Sino-Italian JV)
• Atlas Copco (Wuxi) Compressor Co. Ltd. (Swedish WFOE)
• ROQUETTE (China)Nutrition Food Co., Ltd. (French WFOE)
• Wuxi Pro-face Electronics Co., Ltd (French WFOE)
• Kongsberg Automotive (Wuxi) Ltd. (Norwegian WFOE)
• Sensata Technologies (Changzhou) Co., Ltd. (US WFOE)
• Sensata Technologies (Changzhou) Co., Ltd. (US WFOE)
• AGCO (Changzhou) Agricultural Machinery Co., Ltd (US WFOE)
• Knowles Electronics (Suzhou) Co., Ltd (US WFOE)
• Changshu CSI Solar Power Inc. (Canadian WFOE)
• Linamar Automotive Systems (Wuxi) Co.Ltd. (Canadian WFOE)
• Foxconn Electronic Industrial Development (Kunshan)Co., Ltd. (Taiwanese WFOE)
• LG Chem (Nanjing) Information Material Co., Ltd. (South Korean WFOE)

Useful links:

Management Regulations of the Jiangsu Industry and Information Technology Transformation and Upgrading Special Fund

2018 call for application

2018 list of results (1^st batch)

2017 call for application

2017 list of results

The Jiangsu Industrial Enterprise Technology Upgrading Project Compensation is an ad hoc programme established by the Jiangsu Provincial Industry and Information Technology Department to accelerate the upgrading of machinery and equipment of local enterprises, thus contributing to the supply-side reforms launched by both the central and the local government. The programme offers up to 10 million RMB to eligible technological upgrading projects launched by enterprises.

Target:

Large enterprises.

Eligibility requirements:

• Large enterprise with independent legal personality in Jiangsu province;
• Ongoing technological upgrading project (implemented within Jiangsu province), in line with the industrial development directions outlined by national policies, or with the industrial restructuring directions outlined by provincial policies;
• The ongoing technological upgrading project should have already obtained approval permission by relevant authorities;
• The amount of fixed asset investment of the enterprise corresponding to the fixed asset input VAT deduction in 2017 should exceed 15 million RMB;
• The applicant should not have obtained any record of major misconduct in the last 3 years and a half (examples of ‘major misconduct’ are attached to the call).

What are the benefits?

The amount of the compensation is calculated based on the total budget available, the amount of fixed asset investments concluded by all applicants together, and tax contribution rate of the applicant (the specific formula is specified in the Implementing Rules of the Jiangsu Industrial Enterprise Technology Transformation Project Compensation). The maximum amount of compensation obtainable by one enterprise every year is 10 million RMB.

When and where are calls published

Calls are published every year (usually in March) on the web portal of the Jiangsu Provincial Industry and Information Technology Department.

Methods for application

Applications must be submitted to the county, district, or municipal level industry and information technology commissions where the applicant is registered.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Around 700-800 projects are selected every year. International participation was very high both in 2017 and 2018, with several projects from wholly foreign-owned enterprises approved. In the absolute majority of cases these were German WFOEs, followed by Japanese and American WFOEs. Enterprises from other EU Member States were also identified. A few examples include:

• Phoenix Contact Asia Pacific Electric (Nanjing) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• SUSPA (Nanjing) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Cremer (Wuxi) Commodity Co., Ltd (German WFOE)
• Stabilus (Jiangsu) Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Bosch Automotive Components (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• ThyssenKrupp Engine Systems (Changzhou) Co., Ltd (German WFOE)
• Condi Taco (China) Rubber & Plastics Technology Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Pierburg Automotive Components (Kunshan) Co., Ltd (German WFOE)
• Kern-Liebers (Taicang) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Swoboda Kunshan Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Kolbenschmidt Pierburg (Kunshan) Nonferrous Components Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Solvay (Zhenjiang) Chemicals Co., Ltd. (Belgian WFOE)
• Brembo (Nanjing) Brake Systems Co.,Ltd (Italian WFOE)
• Raymond Fasteners (Zhenjiang) Co., Ltd. (French WFOE)
• Philips Healthcare (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (Dutch WFOE)
• Miba Precision Components (China) Co.,Ltd (Austrian WFOE)
• Vibracoustic (Nanjing) Co.,Ltd (Japanese WFOE)
• Ficosa International (Taicang) Co., Ltd. (Spanish WFOE)
• Kongsberg Automotive (Wuxi) Ltd. (Norwegian WFOE)
• Autoliv (Jiangsu) Automotive Safety Components Co., Ltd. (Swedish WFOE)
• Low & Bonar High-Performance Materials (Changzhou) Co., Ltd (UK WFOE)
• Nanjing IVECO Co., Ltd (Sino-Italian JV)
• Samsung (Wuxi) Electronic Materials Co., Ltd. (South Korean WFOE)
• O.Smith (China) Water Heater Co., Ltd. (US WFOE)
• Amphenol TCS (Changzhou) Co., Ltd (US WFOE)
• Sensata Technologies (Changzhou) Co., Ltd. (US WFOE)
• Linamar Automotive Systems (Wuxi) Co.Ltd. (Canadian WFOE)

Useful links:

Implementing Rules of the Jiangsu Industrial Enterprise Technology Transformation Project Compensation

2018 call for application

2018 list of results (1^st batch)

2017 call for application

2017 list of results

The Enterprise R&D Expenditure Reward Fund is a fund established by the Jiangsu Provincial Finance Department to guide and encourage local enterprises to increase their investments in R&D. Eligible enterprises will receive a reward.

Target:

Enterprises (especially MSMEs) which have not been granted High- and New-Technology Enterprise (HNTE) status

Eligibility requirements:

• Enterprise with independent legal personality in Jiangsu province;
• The enterprise in the year of application should have enjoyed pre-tax deduction policies for R&D spending in line with relevant national policies (see MOF’s Notice on Increasing the Proportion of Pre-tax Deduction for R&D expenditure);
• The enterprise in the year of application should have not enjoyed the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) benefits granted by HNTE status.

What are the benefits?

A reward will be granted to eligible enterprises, although relevant regulations do not provide specific details. The reward should be used in R&D activities.

When and where are calls published? And method of application

No applications are needed from enterprises. Rewards are granted by the provincial finance and S&T departments based on annual budget and work plan: the finance department will compile independently lists of eligible enterprises and forward them to the S&T department. Criteria for selection are however not specified by relevant regulations. Lists of selected candidates will be announced on the website of the Jiangsu Provincial S&T Department (link to latest 2017 results below).

International participation: opportunities and figures

Thousands of enterprises are rewarded every year (over 14,000 in 2018). Although the vast majority are Chinese domestic MSMEs, a few instances of wholly foreign-owned enterprises or Sino-European JVs, such as Arkema (Changshu) Chemicals Co., Ltd. (French WFOE); Bosch Automotive Systems (Wuxi) Company (German WFOE); Brevini (Yancheng) Planetary Drives Co.,Ltd. (Italian WFOE); Asteelflash (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (French WFOE); IPS (Suzhou) New Materials Co., Ltd. (French WFOE); Fuba Automotive Electronics (Suzhou) Co., Ltd (German WFOE); Astenjohnson Technical Fabrics (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (US WFOE); Novosana (Taicang) Biotechnology Co., Ltd (Dutch WFOE); Fasta (Wuxi) Medical Devices Co., Ltd (Australian WFOE); Yawei-Reis Robotics Manufacturing (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (Sino-German JV); Puritek (Zhangjiagang) Environmental Technologies Co., Ltd; etc.

Useful links:

Management Measures for the Jiangsu Provincial Enterprise R&D Expenditure Reward Fund (Trial)

2018 list of winners

2017 list of winners

The Jiangsu Provincial Technology Transfer Fund is a fund established by the Jiangsu Provincial S&T and Finance departments to stimulate local enterprises to launch technology transfer and commercialisation projects within Jiangsu province, thus strengthening the link between scientific research and the industry, and contributing to economic development. Subsidies or grants are given to selected enterprises for expenses incurred during pilot production or commercialisation, for bank loan interest rates, or for the achievement of certain tasks. The Fund is divided into two main programmes:

• Key industry programme (A programme), supporting projects in strategic key industries such as ICT, intelligent manufacturing, high-end equipment, strategic materials, advanced energy, pharmaceuticals, etc. (sectors may vary every year);
• High-tech zones bidding programme (B programme), supporting local governments to join forces with high-tech zones to launch technology transfer projects on a larger scale (each area is assigned a certain number of projects every year).

Applications can be submitted by applications only to the first programme (A programme)

Target:

Enterprises; SMEs.

Eligibility requirements:

The applicant enterprise should meet the following requirements

• Enterprise with independent legal personality and registered in Jiangsu province before 1 January 2017. Universities and research structures can participate as minor partners;
• Good capacities and conditions for R&D and commercialisation, with constantly growing R&D investments, and a dedicated R&D entity/body established.
• R&D expenditures in the last two financial years should account to a certain percentage of the enterprise’s total sales revenue in the same period:
• Over 5% if total revenue is below 50 million RMB;
• Over 4% if total revenue is between 50 and 200 million RMB;
• Over 3% if total revenue exceeds 200 million RMB.
• Good financial situation (annual turnover generally should be over 30 million RMB), with profits generated for at least two consecutive years, debt asset ratio not exceeding 70%.
• Enterprises can apply only to 1 project every year.
• Enterprises which are already implementing a project under the Jiangsu Technology Transfer Fund, Key R&D Programmes, or other provincial-level funding programmes.

The project for which the application is submitted must meet the following requirements:

• In line with national and local development strategies and policies;
• Clear tasks and objectives;
• The technology should have a high degree of maturity, and should be in line with the priority areas indicated in the annual calls for application.
• The project should own IPR, should be highly-innovative, should have an advanced technology level (domestically or internationally), and should have high potential for economic and social spill-over;
• Projects involving pharmaceuticals should have completed phase II clinical trials and already entered into phase III trials. Projects involving medical equipment should have already successfully completed prototype testing; projects involving agricultural seeds, production safety, animal experiments, etc., should have already obtained relevant permissions or licenses.
• Technology upgrading programmes are not supported by the Fund.

What are the benefits?

Three types of benefits are granted to selected enterprises:

• Compensations for expenses incurred during pilot production or commercialisation
• Subsidies for bank loan interest rates for loans taken for the implementation of the technology transfer commercialisation project;
• Compensations for completed projects which have successfully achieved the expected objectives and tasks.

In any case, the total amount of financial support received from the Jiangsu Technology Transfer Fund cannot exceed 30% of the project’s total budget.

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis (usually in January), on the Jiangsu S&T Project Management Platform. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 6 weeks from the date of publication of the call.

Method of application:

Applicants must receive official endorsement from the district-level or city-level S&T bureaus where they are officially registered (there are limits on the maximum number of applications that can be endorsed by each jurisdiction every year). Online applications are submitted through the Jiangsu S&T Project Management Platform (an official account should be created on the system in order to submit applications). Hard copy versions of the application materials should also be submitted to specific offices indicated in the application guidelines. Industry-university-research projects should also register on the relevant service platform.

International participation: opportunities and figures

6 out of 124 of approved projects in 2018 belonged to foreign-invested enterprises. In the totality of cases, however, these were enterprises invested by or incorporated in Hong Kong, or established by overseas Chinese returnees or ethnic Chinese foreign nationals.

Useful links:

2018 call for application

2018 list of winners

2017 call for application

The Nanjing High- and New-Technology Enterprise Cultivation Pool consists of a pool of tech enterprises that aim to apply – in the short term – to the national High- and New-Technology Enterprise (HNTE) status. Other municipalities in Jiangsu province (e.g. Suzhou), as well as the provincial-level administration, also have similar programmes.

Target:

High-tech enterprises (especially MSMEs) with plans to apply to the national HNTE status in the short-term.

Eligibility requirements:

• The applicant shall be an enterprise who has been officially registered within Nanjing municipality for over 1 year, and which has never been granted HNTE status since 2008;
• Own IP rights of the key technologies which show core support to the enterprise’s main products (services). Such rights may be obtained through independent R&D, transfer, donation, or mergers and acquisitions;
• The technologies which show core support to the enterprise’s main products (services) shall belong to one of the areas outlined in the Catalogue of High- and New-Technology Areas Specifically Supported by the State;
• At least 5% of the total number of the enterprise’s employees should be engaged in R&D and related activities;
• R&D expenditures in the last two financial years should account to at least 3% of the enterprise’s total sales revenue in the same period. In addition, at least 60% of the enterprise’s total R&D expenditure must be incurred in China.
• Income derived from high- and new-technology products (services) should amount to at least 40% of the enterprise’s total revenue;
• The assessment of the enterprise’ innovation capabilities is in line with relevant standards;
• The enterprise should have not occurred any major safety or quality incident in the previous year, and should have not had any behaviour against the law.

What are the benefits?

Relevant application calls and regulations do not specify what are the benefits obtained by candidates which are successfully inserted into the HNTE Cultivation Pool. Other municipalities in Jiangsu province (e.g. Suzhou) will grant them R&D subsidies as well as support when applying to other municipal projects; rewards will also be granted in case the enterprise in the Pool is officially recognised as national HNTE.

When and where are calls published?

Calls for the selection of new enterprises in the cultivation pool are published every year on the web portal of the Nanjing Municipal S&T Commission. The deadline for submitting applications is generally 2-4 weeks from the publishing date.

Method of application:

Applicants must first receive endorsement from the district- S&T and finance bureaus where they are registered. Applications must then be submitted to specific offices indicated in annual calls.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Similarly to Suzhou, around 1,000 enterprises are selected every year and included in the cultivation pool. Nearly the totality are Chinese domestic MSMEs: only three cases of WFOEs were identified in 2018, including the German Kommerling (Nanjing) New Materials Co., Ltd.

Useful links:

Implementing Rules of the Nanjing HNTE Cultivation Pool (Trial)

2018 call for application (2^nd batch)

2018 list of selected enterprises (1^st batch)

2017 call for application

Similarly to the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centres, or the National Engineering Research Technology Centres under the Bases and Talents Programme, the Nanjing Municipal Engineering Research Centre is a status given to certain Nanjing-based enterprises, academic institutions or research structures with strong conditions and capacities for innovation, dedicated to market- and industry-oriented engineering R&D, verification, application and integration of core technologies in key areas. Being recognised as Nanjing Municipal Enterprise Engineering Research Centre guarantees particular support when applying to other provincial- or national-level funding programmes.

Target:

Enterprises; Academic institutions; Research structures.

Eligibility requirements:

The candidate facility must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Possess advanced R&D and technology levels in its field, and capacities for implementing large Megaprojects. Possession of indigenous IPR and high-tech results, patents.
• If the applicant is an enterprise, then it must be a High- and New-Technology Enterprise (at least at the municipal level), with annual sales revenue from high-tech products exceeding 50 million RMB;
• If the applicant is an academic institution or a research structure, then the total value of technology transfer contracts signed in the last 5 years should exceed 10 million RMB;
• The facility’s director should possess a high-level of technology, together with strong organisational and leadership skills;
• Solid financial capacities, with additional funds available;
• Previous experience in conducting engineering-scale transfer and conversion of major scientific results;
• Other requirements may be included in individual annual calls (e.g. relating to extension/value of R&D space/facilities; number of R&D personnel employed, etc);
• Enterprise candidates are, in principle, required to have already been included in the “Nanjing Municipal Engineering Research Centre Cultivation List”.

What are the benefits?

Nanjing Municipal Engineering Research Centres will receive financial support from the local administration upon their establishment. Other rewards will also be granted based on the results and outcomes of their operations, especially in terms of technology transfer and commercialisation. Facilities that score “outstanding” in the biennial performance assessment review, will receive additional rewards as well as endorsement to apply to the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centre. Finally, Nanjing Municipal Engineering Research Centres will also receive support from the local administration when applying to other municipal- or provincial-level funding programmes.

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis on the web portal of the Nanjing Municipal S&T Commission. The deadline for submitting applications is usually within 2-4 weeks after the publishing date.

Method of application:

Applicants must first receive endorsement from the district- or S&T park-level S&T bureaus where they are registered. Applications must then be submitted to specific offices indicated in annual calls.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Unlike the Suzhou Municipal Enterprise Engineering Research Centre, where large evidence of wholly-foreign owned enterprises (especially German) was identified among the lists of beneficiaries, very few FIEs were recognised as Nanjing Municipal Engineering Research Centres in 2017 and 2018. Only 5 out of over 250 cases were FIEs: none of them was however European (e.g. TLC (Nanjing) Pharmaceutical Standards Ltd. from Canada; Summit Plastics (Nanjing) Co., Ltd. from the United States; Radiant Opto-Electronics Nanjing Co. Ltd from Taiwan; etc.). This makes the programme very similar to the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centres.

Useful links:

Management Measures for Nanjing Municipal Engineering Research Centres

Nanjing Municipal Engineering Research Centre Cultivation List

2018 call for application

2018 list of winners

2017 call for application

2017 list of winners

In line with the Several Policy Measures for Establishing a World-renowned Innovation City with Global Influence (Ning Wei Fa [2018] No. 1) (Art. 2 and Art. 5) issued by the Nanjing’s Branch of the CPC and the Nanjing Municipal People’s Government in January 2018, the Nanjing municipal administration offers rewards to domestic and foreign R&D enterprises and to renowned multinational corporations that relocate to or establish an R&D structure in Nanjing. Rewards to local enterprises which establish overseas R&D structures will also be offered.

Target:

Enterprises; R&D structures.

Eligibility requirements:

R&D structures established in Nanjing must meet the following requirements:

• Dedicated to clear R&D topics and objectives;
• R&D structure with independent legal personality, with total annual R&D spending accounting to at least 40% of the annual income; alternatively, in case of R&D structures without independent legal personality (e.g. in case of R&D departments within enterprises), the R&D spending should account to at least 6% of the sales revenue.
• Total annual R&D spending exceeding 2 million USD;
• Possession of high-level R&D human resources. Foreign-invested R&D structures require long-term foreign experts to be involved in R&D. Total R&D personnel should account to over 50% of the total (for R&D structures with independent legal personality), or to at least 10% of the enterprise’s total workforce (for R&D structures without independent legal personality).
• Possession of solid R&D space and advanced R&D facilities.

Local enterprises establishing overseas R&D structures must meet the following requirements:

• Officially concluded registration or M&A procedure;
• Possession of solid R&D space and advanced R&D facilities;
• Clear R&D topics and directions; provision of necessary investment in terms of R&D spending and personnel;
• Good operational mechanisms allowing the achievement of R&D results.

What are the benefits?

Up to 30 million RMB of financial support to newly-established R&D structures in Nanjing (depending on the specific investment amount and scale).

Up to 5 million RMB of financial support to newly-established overseas R&D structures.

When and where are calls published?

Calls are published on an annual basis on the website of the Nanjing Municipal S&T Commission. The deadline for submitting applications is usually within 4 weeks from the publishing date.

Method of application:

Applications for rewards are submitted to the district-level departments where the applicant is registered, before being forwarded to the municipal level. Detailed instructions, including application materials to fill, are specified in annual calls.

Useful links:

Implementing Rules of the Nanjing Rewards for newly-established R&D structures (Trial)

2018 call for application

In addition to up to 1 million RMB obtainable from the Nanjing Municipal Indigenous IPR Development Programme (see corresponding factsheet below), the municipal adminsitration in Nanjing offers a wide range of incentives for local entities contributing to Nanjing’s development as a national “IPR strong city”.

Some of these measures specifically target enterprises and SMEs, including:

• 5,000 RMB for each innovation patent obtained in China;
• 10,000 RMB for each high-quality innovation patent obtained in China;
• 30,000 RMB for each PCT patent obtained
• (limit of 500,000 RMB per entity)
• Up to 500,000 RMB every year for best performing IPR service agents;
• Up to 500,000 RMB for newly-recognised Municipal (or above) IP Demonstration Enterprise.

Nanjing IPR Development Project

The local administration every year also funds several projects for enterprises which commit to the development of patents in certain sectors (see Nanjing IPR Development Project below). Compensations of up to 1 million RMB/project plus other loan incentives (such as IPR-based collaterals) are offered for projects in major key fields (e.g. integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, new energy vehicles, and biomedicine); other compensations of up to 200,000 RMB/project are offered for projects in other local priority industries, such as advanced manufacturing and advanced services.

Useful links:

Implementation Measures for the Establishment of Nanjing as a High-level National IPR Strong City (Trial)

2018 call for application for the Nanjing IPR Development Project

The Suzhou High- and New-Technology Enterprise Cultivation Pool consists of a pool of tech enterprises that aim to apply – in the short term – to the national High- and New-Technology Enterprise (HNTE) status. Selected enterprises will become eligible to receive funding or subsidies according to their development needs.

Target:

High-tech enterprises (especially MSMEs) with plans to apply to the national HNTE status in the short-term.

Eligibility requirements:

• The applicant shall be an enterprise who has been officially registered within Jiangsu province for over 1 year, and which has never been granted HNTE status since 2008;
• Own IP rights of the key technologies which show core support to the enterprise’s main products (services). Such rights may be obtained through independent R&D, transfer, donation, or mergers and acquisitions;
• The technologies which show core support to the enterprise’s main products (services) shall belong to one of the areas outlined in the Catalogue of High- and New-Technology Areas Specifically Supported by the State;
• At least 5% of the total number of the enterprise’s employees should be engaged in R&D and related activities;
• R&D expenditures in the last two financial years should account to at least 3% of the enterprise’s total sales revenue in the same period. In addition, at least 60% of the enterprise’s total R&D expenditure must be incurred in China.
• Income derived from high- and new-technology products (services) should amount to at least 50% of the enterprise’s total revenue;
• The assessment of the enterprise’ innovation capabilities is in line with relevant standards;
• The enterprise should have not occurred any major safety or quality incident in the previous year, and should have not had any behaviour against the law.

What are the benefits?

Enterprises in the cultivation pool will become eligible to apply for R&D subsidies amounting to a maximum of 200,000 RMB. They will also receive support when applying to other municipal-level funding programmes. Enterprises in the pool which are successfully recognised as national HNTEs will receive 300,000 RMB of reward.

When and where are calls published?

Calls for the selection of new enterprises in the cultivation pool are published every year on the website of the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau. The deadline for submitting applications is generally 4-6 weeks from the publishing date.

Method of application:

Online applications must be submitted through the website of the Jiangsu Province Technology Exchange Centre (an account must be created). Hard copy versions must also be submitted to relevant district or subcity level authorities.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Similarly to Nanjing, around 1,000 enterprises are selected every year and included in the cultivation pool. Although the vast majority are Chinese domestic MSMEs, a few instances of European WFOEs was identified, such as Marsilli Automation Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. and Ponzini Health and Beauty High-Tech (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (Italian WFOEs); Swoboda Kunshan Co., Ltd. and Afriso Measurement Control Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (German WFOEs); SIG Combibloc (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (Swiss WFOE); Microtek Manufacturing Solutions (Suzhou) Co., Ltd; etc. Many other cases of Japanese and Singaporean WFOEs were also identified.

Useful links:

Implementing Rules of the Suzhou HNTE Cultivation Pool (Trial)

2018 call for application

2018 list of selected enterprises

2017 call for application

2017 list of selected enterprises

2018 application for R&D subsidies of enterprises in the pool

Similarly to the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centres, or the National Engineering Research Technology Centres under the Bases and Talents Programme, the Suzhou Municipal Enterprise Engineering Research Centre is a status given to certain Suzhou-based enterprises with strong conditions and capacities for innovation, dedicated to market- and industry-oriented engineering R&D, verification, application and integration of core technologies in key areas. Being recognised as Suzhou Municipal Enterprise Engineering Research Centre guarantees particular support when applying to other provincial- or national-level funding programmes.

Target:

Enterprises; SMEs.

Eligibility requirements:

The candidate enterprise must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Registered within the Suzhou municipality before January 2017;
• Annual operational revenue in the previous year above 20 million RMB, at least 3% of which should have been used for R&D activities;
• The project for which the application is submitted should generally last 3 years and exceed 3 million RMB. By the end of the project, major results will have to be obtained;
• Employs at least 10 R&D personnel (Bachelor’s degree or above);
• The extension of the R&D facilities should exceed 500 sqm, with the value of relevant facilities and equipment exceeding 2 million RMB;
• Possession of at least 1 IPR in the relevant technology sector (invention patent, utility models, software certificate, integrated circuit layout design, etc.);
• Only one application can be submitted by each applicant every year.

What are the benefits?

It is not clear whether selected Suzhou Municipal Enterprise Engineering Research Centres will receive any financial support/reward from the local administration. Similar facilities in other municipalities (e.g. Nanjing) and at the provincial level do. What is clear is that selected facilities will receive strong support from local authorities when applying to other municipal-, provincial- or national-level funding programmes, such as NKPs or Megaprojects.

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis (usually during the third quarter), on the web portal of the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau. Applications are usually published together with those for the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centre (see corresponding factsheet above). The deadline for submitting application is generally within 5-6 weeks from the date of publication of the call.

Method of application:

Applicants must first receive endorsement from the district- or subcity-level S&T bureaus where they are registered. Applications are then submitted online through the Suzhou S&T Programme Management Platform.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Unlike the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centres, where nearly the totality of approved facilities belonged to Chinese domestic entities, large evidence of FIEs – and in particular WFOEs – was identified in approved Suzhou Municipal Enterprise Engineering Research Centres, both in 2017 and 2018 (percentages between 5% and 10% of the total). The vast majority were German and Taiwanese WFOEs; participation from other EU Member States was nearly absent. A few examples below:

• Baoneike-Changshun Automobile Inner Decoration Materials (Zhangjiagang) Co., Ltd. (Sino-German JV)
• Hilite Automotive Systems (Changshu) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Kern-Liebers (Taicang) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
  GIF-Romax Powertrain Technologies (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Hottinger Baldwin Measuremen (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Messer Specialty Gases (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Vorwerk Autotec(Suzhou) Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Technoform Bautec (Suzhou) Thermal Insulation Material Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Orkli Electronics (Kunshan) Co., Ltd (Spanish WFOE)
• Canadian General-Tower(Changshu) Co., Ltd (Canadian WFOE)
• Eutec Fine Chemical (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (Taiwan WFOE)
• Ruihong Precision Electronics (Taicang) Co., Ltd.  (Taiwan WFOE)
• TopFlex Corporation (Kunshan) (Taiwan WFOE)
• Well Shin Electronic (Kunshan)Co., Ltd (Taiwan WFOE)

Useful links:

2018 call for application

2018 list of winners

2017 call for application

2017 list of winners

The Suzhou Technology Transfer Subsidy is a programme launched by the Suzhou municipal administration to encourage Suzhou-based tech enterprises to transfer and commercialise technology results from universities and research structures. Subsidies based on a proportion of the technology contract value will be granted to qualified enterprises.

Target:

Enterprises; SMEs.

Eligibility requirements:

Technology transfer or technology projects must meet the following requirements:

• The applicant is an enterprise with independent legal personality in Suzhou;
• The applicant is the transferee party or the principal of the technology transfer/development contract. The project should still be ongoing when the application is submitted;
• The technology contract should have been registered with relevant certification authorities (or commerce-related departments if involving foreign technology transfer)

Transfer of self-developed results:

• The owner of the invention patent, or the person with utilisation rights, should have established a legal entity in Suzhou within the previous 3 years, and should be one of the shareholders.

What are the benefits?

A certain proportion of the value of the technology contract will be subsidised to enterprises. The maximum limit of subsidies that can be received by one enterprise is 500,000 RMB per year.

Method of application:

Applicants need to register their technology transfer projects on the website of the Indigenous Innovation Trade Market, or on the Suzhou S&T Programme Management Platform. After approval, the application for the Technology Transfer Project Subsidy can be officially submitted.

When and where are calls published?

Technology transfer projects can generally be registered through the relevant platforms after an announcement is published in the first half every year. The deadline for registration is usually within 6-8 weeks from the publishing date.

International participation: opportunities and figures

According to the list of subsidised projects in 2017 and 2018 (links below), international participation in the programme is currently nearly absent: only 1 out of 35 projects in 2017 belonged to a foreign-invested enterprise (i.e. a Sino-foreign JV), while this number dropped to 0 in 2018. Reasons are unclear, but in any case international enterprises – especially SMEs – are well positioned to become beneficiaries of these subsidies, as it is the case in similar programmes in other municipalities (e.g. the “High- and New-Technology Transfer project “ in Shanghai).

Useful links:

2018 announcement of registrations

2018 list of selected projects

2017 announcement of registration

2017 list of selected projects

The Suzhou S&T Development Plan – S&T Infrastructure Programme, is a dedicated programme launched by the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau to support the establishment and the operations of new or already existing research structures and laboratories within Suzhou-based enterprises. The programme is divided into three chapters:

• Establishment of key laboratories in leading enterprises or academic institutions, especially in the area of ICT, artificial intelligence, nanotechnologies, semiconductors, and advanced materials;
• Performance awards of enterprise research structures, granting certain rewards to good performing enterprise research structures already established in the area of ICT, new energy, healthcare, and society;
• Establishment of new types of research structures, granting financial support for the establishment of new research structures.

Target:

Enterprises; academic institutions (only for the first and third chapters)

Eligibility requirements:

The eligibility requirements for the ‘establishment of key laboratories’ chapter are:

• Annual sales revenue of the enterprise’s main product above 50 million RMB, at least 3% of which should be dedicated to R&D spending (only for enterprises)
• Possession of at least 20 highly-skilled innovation personnel. Possession of at least one innovation patent in core technologies in the field for which the application is submitted;
• The investment of the project for which the application is submitted should exceed 3 million RMB (or 5 million RMB for academic institutions);
• Possession of independent R&D facilities (at least 1,000 sqm of extension) and R&D equipment (which should be registered on the Suzhou Municipal R&D Resource Sharing Service Platform).
• Particular priority is granted to key leading enterprises, formulators of national GB standards, etc. Enterprises which have already established a research institute cannot apply to this programme.

The eligibility requirements for the ‘performance awards of enterprise research structures’ chapter are:

• Already established enterprise research structure, including: key laboratory; municipal enterprise engineering research centre; enterprise research institute; academician work station; S&T public service platform.
• Should have passed the performance evaluation assessment.

The eligibility requirements for the ‘establishment of new types of research structures’ chapter are:

• Independent legal personality in Suzhou;
• The applicant’s R&D spending in the previous year should account to at least 15% of its revenue;
• At least 30% of the hired personnel should hold a Master’s Degree or Ph.D. Degree, or senior technology position;
• The applicant’s revenue from R&D services offered to the society should account to at least 50% of the total;
• The value of the applicant’s R&D facilities and equipment should exceed 10 million RMB.
• If the applicant has obtained independent legal personality in Suzhou after 14 September 2016, then it is required to have a registered capital of at least 10 million RMB. At the end of the 3-year construction period, then all the above requirements will also apply.

What are the benefits?

• Key laboratories: 300,000 RMB, plus particular priority and support in applying to other municipal, provincial, or national funding programmes;
• Performance awards of enterprise research structures: up to 500,000 RMB;
• Establishment of new types of research structures: performance awards for already established facilities; or up to 10 million RMB of funding for newly-established facilities.

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis on the web portal of the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau. Applications for the ‘key laboratories’ and ‘performance awards of enterprise research structures’ are usually published together with the calls of all the other programmes under the Suzhou S&T Development Plan (usually in the first batch in March) – with deadline for submitting online and hard copy applications usually being within 2 or 3 weeks.

Applications for the ‘establishment of new types of research structures’ chapter are also published on the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau, usually during the summer. The deadline for submitting applications is usually 4-5 weeks from the publishing date.

Method of application:

Applicants must first receive endorsement from the district- or subcity-level S&T bureaus where they are registered. Applications are then submitted online through the Suzhou S&T Programme Management Platform.

International participation: opportunities and figures

According to the list of approved projects in 2017 and 2018, the ‘performance awards of enterprise research structures’ chapter is the only one where international participation was identified – although still in limited percentages. There was only one case of an European WFOE (the German Kathrein Automotive Products (Suzhou) Co., Ltd.). This chapter is still believed to be very attractive for European actors, especially those that have been recognised as Municipal Enterprise Engineering Research Centres (i.e. one type of ‘enterprise research structure’).

Useful links:

Implementing Rules for Supporting the Establishment of R&D Structures in Suzhou (Trial)

2018 call for application (‘key laboratory’ and ‘performance awards of enterprise research structures’ chapters)

2018 list of winners (‘key laboratory’ and ‘performance awards of enterprise research structures’ chapters)

2017 call for application (‘key laboratory’ and ‘performance awards of enterprise research structures’ chapters)

2017 list of winners (‘performance awards of enterprise research structures’ chapter)

2018 call for application (‘establishment of new types of research structures’ chapter)

2018 list of winners (‘establishment of new types of research structures’ chapter)

The Suzhou S&T Development Plan – S&T Policy-guided Funding, is a dedicated programme launched by the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau to grant additional funding and support to Suzhou-based enterprises and research organisations which are currently implementing national or provincial level megaprojects or key R&D programmes – in line with key local policy documents.

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis on the web portal of the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau – usually together with the calls of all the other programmes under the Suzhou S&T Development Plan (usually in the first batch in March). The deadline for submitting applications is usually 4-5 weeks from the publishing date.

Method of application:

Applications are submitted online through the Suzhou S&T Programme Management Platform. Hard copy versions must also be printed and submitted. After a pre-review and screening from relevant district or subcity-level S&T bureaus, eligible applications will be submitted to the Municipal S&T Bureau.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Because of the low success rate of international entities in applying to the above statues (especially at those at the national level under the Bases and Talents Programme), and thus of the impossibility to meet the eligibility requirements, very low evidence of international participation was identified under this programme. If, however, the above eligibility requirements can be met, then the programme is equally open to international entities – as it was the case for two wholly foreign-owned enterprises in 2017 and 2018: the Italian Faist Precision Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., and the German Ruhlamat Automation Technologies (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., both of which as Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centres.

Useful links:

Implementing Rules for Supporting the Establishment of R&D Structures in Suzhou (Trial)

2018 call for application

2018 list of results

2017 list of results

The Suzhou S&T Development Plan – Subsidy Programme for Key Agriculture Technologies, is a dedicated programme established by the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau to further stimulate local entities to launch R&D on key agricultural technologies and products. Specifically, it grants subsidies to entities for their R&D spending, or for new agricultural varieties developed. The programme’s objective is to boost the development of modern agriculture and the development of new agricultural varieties, technologies, equipment, and models.

Target:

Enterprises; agricultural cooperatives; others (in case of new agricultural varieties).

Eligibility requirements:

• Possession of independent legal personality in Suzhou;
• Subsidies can be granted for R&D spending or new varieties developed during a two- or three-year period preceding the application.

What are the benefits?

For R&D projects, qualified applicants will receive subsidies amounting to 20% of the total R&D expenditure incurred (maximum 200,000 RMB). For each new agricultural variety developed, qualified applicants will receive 50,000 RMB (maximum 300,000 RMB in total).

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis on the web portal of the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau – usually together with the calls of all the other programmes under the Suzhou S&T Development Plan (usually in the first batch in March). The deadline for submitting applications is usually 4-5 weeks from the publishing date.

Method of application:

Applications are submitted online through the Suzhou S&T Programme Management Platform. Hard copy versions must also be printed and submitted. Applicants must also submit relevant R&D pre-tax deduction certificates issued by local tax authorities. After a pre-review and screening from relevant district or subcity-level S&T bureaus, eligible applications will be submitted to the Municipal S&T Bureau.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Lists of subsidies granted in 2017 and 2018 show that international participation is nearly absent: only one wholly foreign-owned enterprise was, in fact, among the beneficiaries (the Danish Suzhou Ovodan Foods Co., Ltd). Reasons are unclear, although may be partly related to the relatively low presence of European actors engaged in agricultural R&D in Jiangsu.

Useful links:

2018 call for application

2018 list of winners

2017 call for application

2017 list of winners

The Suzhou S&T Development Plan – Subsidy Programme for Medical Devices and New Drugs, is a dedicated programme launched by the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau to support local enterprises and organisations to conduct indigenous innovation on and to accelerate the commercialisation of new high-end medical devices and drugs, conducted over a 1-year period preceding the application. Specifically, the programme grants subsidies to entities which have achieved important R&D results in the area of chemicals, biological drugs, natural drugs, Chinese medicine drugs, and high-end medical devices. The programme’s objective is to shape a new source of economic growth for Suzhou municipality.

Target and amount of subsidies:

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis on the web portal of the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau – usually together with the calls of all the other programmes under the Suzhou S&T Development Plan (usually in the first batch in March). The deadline for submitting applications is usually 4-5 weeks from the publishing date.

Method of application:

Applications are submitted online through the Suzhou S&T Programme Management Platform. Hard copy versions must also be printed and submitted. After a pre-review and screening from relevant district or subcity-level S&T bureaus, eligible applications will be submitted to the Municipal S&T Bureau.

International participation: opportunities and figures

International participation under the programme is relatively low. Four WFOEs received subsidies in 2017 (including Philips Healthcare (Suzhou) Co., Ltd, and the German Maquet Medical Equipment (Suzhou) Co., Ltd, plus two other Japanese WFOEs), while only one of the 47 beneficiaries in 2018 was a WFOE (the American Meixi Medical Devices (Kunshan) Co., Ltd).

Useful links:

2018 call for application

2018 list of winners

2017 call for application

2017 list of winners

Similarly to the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centres, or the National Engineering Research Technology Centres under the Bases and Talents Programme, the Wuxi Municipal Engineering Research Centre is a status given to certain Wuxi-based enterprises with strong conditions and capacities for innovation, dedicated to market- and industry-oriented engineering R&D, verification, application and integration of core technologies in key areas. Being recognised as Wuxi Municipal Engineering Research Centre guarantees particular support when applying to other provincial- or national-level funding programmes.

Target:

Enterprises; SMEs.

Eligibility requirements:

The candidate enterprise must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Independent legal personality in Wuxi municipality. Particular priority granted to High- and New-Technology Enterprises (HNTE) and innovative enterprises;
• Clear R&D directions in line with national, provincial, and municipal industrial policies;
• Sales revenue in the previous year above 50 million RMB, at least 2% of which should have been invested for R&D activities;
• Possession of a team of at least 20 R&D or engineering research personnel, 1 or 2 of which should be leading profiles within their fields;
• The applicant should have adequate R&D facilities and space. The value of relevant facilities and equipment should exceed 2 million RMB;
• Possession of at least 3 IPRs obtained in the last three years, including new drug certificates, innovation patents, utility model patents, software copyright, integrated circuit layout designs, etc;
• The project for which the application is submitted should exceed 5 million RMB;
• Applicants with support from district-level authorities are encouraged.

What are the benefits?

It is not clear whether selected Wuxi Municipal Engineering Research Centres will receive any financial support/reward from the local administration. Similar facilities in other municipalities (e.g. Nanjing) and at the provincial level do. What is clear is that selected facilities will receive strong support from local authorities when applying to other municipal or provincial-level funding programmes, and especially the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centre programme.

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis (usually in the first half), on the web portal of the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau. The deadline for submitting application is generally within 4 weeks from the date of publication of the call (though earlier deadlines might apply for obtaining endorsement from subcity or district-level S&T bureaus, see below).

Method of application:

Applicants must first receive endorsement from the subcity or district-level S&T bureaus where they are registered. Applications are then officially submitted to the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Lists of results are generally only published for candidates based in Jiangyin city (subcity). No evidence of foreign-invested enterprises was however identified, unlike similar programmes in other Jiangsu municipalities (especially Suzhou, but also Nanjing).

Useful links:

2018 call for application

2018 list of winners in Jiangyin (3^rd batch)

2018 list of winners in Jiangyin (1^st batch)

2017 call for application

The Wuxi Industrial Development Fund is a dedicated fund established by the Wuxi Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatisation to boost the industrial restructuring and upgrading of local enterprises, towards more intelligent, green, service-oriented, and high-end directions. Specifically, it grants compensations or subsidies to enterprises implementing certain projects specified line with annual calls published.

Target:

Enterprises.

Eligibility requirements:

Eligibility requirements tend to vary according to the type of project launched by the candidate, but generally are as follows:

• Enterprise or organisation registered in Wuxi;
• Possession of good capacities and conditions for the successful delivery of the project;
• Possession of solid financial and management mechanisms, with no negative records or credit-loss records obtained in the last 5 years;
• The candidate has not received other funding from similar municipal-level programmes.

What are the benefits?

Different types of support are granted, depending on the project launched. These are generally compensations or subsidies for new advanced equipment purchased, carbon-emission reduction, digitalisation, land utilisation, etc., generally starting from 500,000 RMB to 5 million RMB (see the Implementing Rules for the Management of the Wuxi Industrial Development Fund below for specific figures).

When and where are calls published?

Calls are published every year on the web portal of the Wuxi Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatisation. The deadline for submitting application is generally within 2 weeks from the date of publication of the call (though earlier deadlines might apply for obtaining endorsement from subcity or district-level S&T bureaus, see below). In the latest 2018 call, applications could be submitted in three different batches, each with different deadlines (note: this was not the case in 2017).

Method of application:

Pre-applications must be submitted online through the Wuxi Modern Industrial Development Funding Administrative Service Platform. An official account must be created. Applications must be reviewed and pre-approved by subcity or district level financial and economic authorities – only after which the applicant can submit its official application (in hard copy version) to the Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatisation.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Tens of projects are selected every year. Evidence of foreign-invested enterprises – including wholly foreign-owned ones – was identified in 2018, though most of them were American:

• Ross (Wuxi) Equipment Co., Ltd. (US WFOE)
• WAM Conveyor Machinery (Wuxi) Co., Ltd. (Italian WFOE)
• Wuxi Valeo Automotive Components and System Co., Ltd. (French WFOE)
• Wuxi NOK-Freudenberg Oilseal Co., Ltd. (Japanese-German JV)
• Nutricia Pharmaceutical (Wuxi) Co., Ltd. (owned by Danone)
• Seagate TechnologyInternational (Wuxi) Co., Ltd (US WFOE)
• GE Medical Systems (China) Co., Ltd. (US WFOE)
• Green Point Technology(Wuxi) Co., Ltd. (US WFOE)
• Jabil Green Point PrecisionElectronics (Wuxi) Co., Ltd (US WFOE)
• Samsung(Wuxi) Electronics Materials, Ltd. (South Korean WFOE)
• Bridgestone (Wuxi) Tire Co., Ltd. (Japanese WFOE)

Useful links:

Implementing Rules for the Management of the Wuxi Industrial Development Fund

2018 call for application

2018 list of winners (1^st batch)

2018 list of winners (2^nd batch)

2017 call for application

In line with the Wuxi Municipality Intelligent Manufacturing Three-year Action Plan (2017-2019), the municipal administration has established a dedicated programme aimed at supporting local enterprises to upgrade their production lines based on smart and intelligent technologies: the Wuxi Intelligent Production Line Programme.

Target:

Enterprises.

Eligibility requirements:

The candidate enterprise must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Registered within the Wuxi municipality, and operating for at least 1 year;
• Solid financial and management mechanisms in place, with good social and economic impact;
• Does not possess any negative records or credit-loss records in the past 3 years;
• The applicant enterprise should have formulated a development strategy for intelligent manufacturing, and should possess a specific R&D body and a team of a certain scale dedicated exclusively to increasing its intelligent manufacturing capabilities.

The project for which the application is submitted should generally involve digitalisation (including robots) and internet-of-things application to the production line, depending on the specific business sector in which the applicant operates. Supported areas and sectors are specified in annual calls.

What are the benefits?

Selected projects will receive funding support by the local administration, although the specific amount is not clear.

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis (usually in two batches, one in the first half and the other in the second half of the year), on the web portal of the Wuxi Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatisation. The deadline for submitting application is generally within 2 weeks from the date of publication of the call (though earlier deadlines might apply for obtaining endorsement from subcity or district-level S&T bureaus, see below).

Method of application:

Applicants must first receive endorsement from the district- or subcity-level bureaus of economic and informatisation where they are registered. Applications are then officially submitted to the Wuxi Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatisation. More applications to different projects can be submitted at the same time.

International participation: opportunities and figures

International participation within the Wuxi Intelligent Production Line Programme is high. 24 out of 60 approved projects in 2018 (in two different batches, see below), in fact belonged to foreign-invested enterprises, mostly wholly foreign-owned – although the majority were American. Examples include:

• Astrazeneca Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (x3 projects)
• BWF (Wuxi) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Witzenmann Metal Products (Jiangyin) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Wuxi NOK-Freudenberg Oilseal Co., Ltd. (German-Japanese JV)
• Melecs Electronics Manufacturing (Wuxi) Co. Ltd (Austrian WFOE)
• Van de Wiele (China) Textile Machinery Co. Ltd (Belgian WFOE)
• Panasonic Energy (Wuxi) Co., Ltd. (Japanese WFOE)
• Amprius (Wuxi) Co., Ltd (US WFOE)
• DSM Engineering Plastics (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (US WFOE)
• GE Medical Systems (China) Co., Ltd. (US WFOE) (x2 projects)
• Caterpillar (China) Machinery Components Co., Ltd. (US WFOE) (x2 projects)
• York (Wuxi) Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Co., Ltd. (US WFOE) (x2 projects)
• Johnson Controls Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (Wuxi) Co. Ltd. (US WFOE) (x3 projects)
• Jabil Circuit (Wuxi) Co., Ltd. (US WFOE)
• Hayward Machinery Equipment (Wuxi) Co., Ltd. (US WFOE)
• Lianmao (Wuxi) Electronic Technology Co., Ltd.

Useful links:

2018 call for application (2^nd batch)

2018 call for application (1^st batch)

2018 list of results (2^nd batch)

2018 list of results (1^st batch)

2017 list of results

The Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau has established an ad hoc fund for supporting S&T development in Wuxi – the Wuxi S&T Development Fund. The Fund targets different actors, areas, and activities, and offers diversified forms of support.

Structure:

Specifically, the following programmes are supported by the Fund:

• Establishment of innovation alliances in the field of agriculture;
• Forward-looking key technologies (biomedicine);
• Forward-looking key technologies (agriculture);
• Forward-looking key technologies (industrial technologies);
• Technology SME Innovation Grants;
• International R&D Cooperation;
• Subsidies for S&T insurance;
• IP Demonstration Enterprise;
• Establishment and operation of IPR trading agencies;
• Innovation capacity-building platforms;
• R&D Subsidies for R&D Organisations;
• Tech Commercialisation Loan Interest Subsidies;
• IP Pledge Loan Interest Subsidies;
• Social development;
• Industry-university-research technology transfer.

Individual factsheets are provided below for the programmes highlighted in bold.

Who can participate? What are the eligibility requirements?

The eligibility requirements vary according to the specific programme, but in general applicants are expected to:

• Be registered in one of Wuxi’s districts (therefore excluding Jiangyin and Yixing municipalities);
• Have solid operational, management and financial mechanisms, as well as strong technology and research conditions and capabilities;
• Possess indigenous IPR;
• Not have any other ongoing similar projects which have received financial support from the provincial or municipal administration;
• Not have any ongoing disputes, or negative records.

What are the benefits?

Subsidies, grants, compensations, etc., depending on the specific programme.

When and where are calls published?

Calls for application are published on an annual basis, usually in the first months, on the web portal of the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau, as an annex of the Wuxi S&T Development Fund call. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 4-5 weeks from the date of publication.

Method for application:

Pre-applications must be submitted online through the Wuxi Modern Industrial Development Funding Administrative Service Platform. An official account must be created. Applications must be reviewed and pre-approved by the district level S&T and finance authorities – only after which the applicant can submit its official application (in hard copy version) to the Municipal S&T Bureau.

International participation: opportunities and figures

In addition to the programme specifically dedicated to international cooperation (‘International R&D Cooperation’, see below), international participation within the Wuxi S&T Development Fund appears very low, and generally limited to few programmes. Reasons are unclear, but there are no indicators suggesting that international participants are not encouraged to apply.

Useful links:

2018 call for applications

2018 list of winners

2017 list of winners

As part of the Wuxi S&T Development Fund, the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau has established and hoc programme granting subsidies for R&D activities – especially involving development, transfer or incubation of key technologies – in areas in line with major local priorities. Foreign-invested research structures and multinational corporations are among the main targets of the programme.

Who can participate? What are the eligibility requirements?

• R&D organisation (domestic or foreign academic institutions, research structures, backbone enterprises, MNCs, scientists and teams) with independent legal personality in Wuxi (including S&T parks and development zones);
• The project for which subsidies are requested should have already been established;
• Solid R&D work force, at least 40% of total employees should have Master’s or Ph.D. degrees or senior job titles;
• For service firms: revenue from technology development, transfer or consulting services in the previous year above 2 million RMB, at least 60% of which should come from Wuxi-based clients.

What are the benefits?

Subsidies of up to 20% of the applicant’s R&D expenditure in the previous year (max 5 million RMB per project).

When and where are calls published?

Calls for application are published on an annual basis on the web portal of the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau, as an annex of the Wuxi S&T Development Fund call. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 4-5 weeks from the date of publication.

Method of application:

Pre-applications must be submitted online through the Wuxi Modern Industrial Development Funding Administrative Service Platform. An official account must be created. Applications must be reviewed and pre-approved by the district level S&T and finance authorities – only after which the applicant can submit its official application (in hard copy version) to the Municipal S&T Bureau.

International participation: opportunities and figures

No data is available online on approved projects in the last year. As the calls for application explicitly mention foreign-invested research structures and MNCs, it is expected that the degree of international participation is relatively high.

Useful links:

2018 call for applications (see Annex 1-12)

As part of the Wuxi S&T Development Fund, the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau has established and hoc programme granting subsidies for S&T or patent-related insurance purchased by local enterprises, including for: key R&D equipment, business interruption, export credit, asset insurance, product liability, product quality, employer liability, environmental pollution liability, investment-loss, senior management life accidents, and other insurances officially approved by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Who can participate? What are the eligibility requirements?

• Enterprises with independent legal personality in one of Wuxi’s districts, with stable economic and S&T capabilities. Priority is granted to HNTEs, S&T leading enterprises, and tech SMEs;
• The applicant’s R&D product belongs to one of the strategic and emerging industries whose development is encouraged by local policies;
• The costs incurred for purchasing the insurance should have been incurred not before the previous year in which the application is submitted. No other similar subsidies should have been obtained.

What are the benefits?

Subsidies of up to 50% of the insurance cost (max. 300,000 RMB).

When and where are calls published?

Calls for application are published on an annual basis on the web portal of the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau, as an annex of the Wuxi S&T Development Fund call. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 4-5 weeks from the date of publication.

Method of application:

Pre-applications must be submitted online through the Wuxi Modern Industrial Development Funding Administrative Service Platform. An official account must be created. Applications must be reviewed and pre-approved by the district level S&T and finance authorities – only after which the applicant can submit its official application (in hard copy version) to the Municipal S&T Bureau.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Two out of 32 approved subsidies in 2018 belonged to wholly foreign-owned enterprises: the American Memsic Semiconductor (Wuxi) Co., Ltd.; and the Singaporean Yongxin Precise Material (Wuxi) Co., Ltd.

Useful links:

2018 call for applications (see Annex 1-7)

2018 list of winners

2017 list of winners

As part of the Wuxi S&T Development Fund, the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau has established and hoc programme granting subsidies for loan interests paid by local enterprises on loans taken for the commercialisation of S&T results in Wuxi, especially when involving high value-added core units and major machines in strategic and emerging key industries – such as ICT, clean technologies, new materials, new energy, advanced manufacturing. The specific sectors and areas supported are specified every year in annual calls.

Note: a similar programme exists for IP pledge loan interests (see below).

Who can participate? What are the eligibility requirements?

The applicant enterprise should meet the following requirements:

• Enterprise with independent legal personality in one of Wuxi’s districts (thus excluding Jiangyin and Yixing municipalities), registered at least more than 1 year before the application, and with annual turnover exceeding 20 million RMB;
• R&D expenditure in the previous year exceeding 2% of sales revenue;
• Applicants which have other ongoing commercialisation projects which have received financial support from the provincial or municipal administration, are not eligible, together with those with negative records in the past 3 years.

The commercialisation project for which the application is submitted should meet the following requirements:

• In line with the priority sectors specified in the annual call, and with municipal and provincial industrial development policies;
• Possession of IPR in the relevant field (i.e. innovation patent, utility model patent, software copyright, integrated circuit layout design, etc). Projects with PCT patents and involving core technologies from research structures are particularly encouraged;
• The project’s total budget should exceed 30 million RMB;
• The project implementation period and the loan interest period should be around 2 years after the approval of the project.

What are the benefits?

Subsidies for up to 50% of the bank’s benchmark interest rate (max 1 million RMB/year, max 2 million RMB in total).

When and where are calls published?

Calls for application are published on an annual basis on the web portal of the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau, as an annex of the Wuxi S&T Development Fund call. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 4-5 weeks from the date of publication.

Method for application:

Pre-applications must be submitted online through the Wuxi Modern Industrial Development Funding Administrative Service Platform. An official account must be created. Applications must be reviewed and pre-approved by the district level S&T and finance authorities – only after which the applicant can submit its official application (in hard copy version) to the Municipal S&T Bureau.

International participation: opportunities and figures

No evidence of international participation was identified in the lists of approved projects in 2017 and 2018. However, there are no indicators suggesting that FIEs are not encouraged to apply.

Useful links:

2018 call for applications (see Annex 1-14)

2018 list of winners

2017 list of winners

IP Pledge Loan Interest (see Annex 1-15)

The High- and New-Technology Enterprise (HNTE) status is one of China’s core innovation tax policies under China’s Corporate Income Tax Law. The concept of HNTE status emerged in the 1990s to encourage investment in high-tech and R&D areas through a series of benefits including fiscal and tax incentives. The HNTE status offers qualified companies a significant reduction of the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) rate.

Eligibility requirements:

According to the latest revision of the Management Measures for the Recognition of High- and New-Technology Enterprises issued in January 2016 by MOST, MOF and SAT, enterprises must meet the following requirements in order to qualify to HNTE status:

• Being registered in Mainland China for at least one year before the application is submitted
• Own IP rights of the key technologies which show core support to the enterprise’s main products (services). Such rights may be obtained through independent R&D, transfer, donation, or mergers and acquisitions;
• The technologies which show core support to the enterprise’s main products (services) shall belong to one of the areas outlined in the Catalogue of High- and New-Technology Areas Specifically Supported by the State;
• At least 10% of the total number of the enterprise’s employees should be engaged in R&D and related activities;
• R&D expenditures in the last three financial years should account to a certain percentage of the enterprise’s total sales revenue in the same period:
• Over 5% if total revenue is below 50 million RMB;
• Over 4% if total revenue is between 50 and 200 million RMB;
• Over 3% if total revenue exceeds 200 million RMB.

In addition, at least 60% of the enterprise’s total R&D expenditure must be incurred in China

• Income derived from high- and new-technology products (services) should amount to at least 60% of the enterprise’s total revenue;
• The assessment of the enterprise’ innovation capabilities is in line with relevant standards;
• The enterprise should have not occurred any major safety or quality incident in the previous year, and should have not had any behaviour against the law

What are the benefits?

• Reduction of the Corporate Income Tax (CIT), from the standard 25% tax rate to 15%, regardless of the company’s investment type and where its headquarters are located.

Once approved, the HNTE status will last for three years, after which the application needs to be re-submitted.

When and where are application calls published?

Applications are opened after an official announcement is published on the web portal of the Jiangsu Provincial S&T Department, usually every year in the first months. The application period is usually divided into two or three batches, each with its own application deadlines.

Method of application:

Applicants must first conduct a self-evaluation of the eligibility criteria, and upload it through its account on the national HNTE Certification Management Platform. The applicant will then receive a 22-digit code by relevant authorities if the self-evaluation is compliant with the eligibility criteria for HNTE status.

Once new annual applications are announced, the applicant should first register through the website of the Jiangsu Provincial Technology Exchange Centre. Once approved, the official application must be submitted on the HNTE Recognition Management Platform (Innocom website).

International participation: figures and opportunities

Domestic and foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) are equally eligible to apply as long as they comply with the requirements listed above. However, it is commonly believed that the eligibility requirements might be more challenging to meet for FIEs. *

Figures, however, show that FIEs are actively participating in the programme in Jiangsu province. A large number of approved HNTEs (around 5%) in 2018 were foreign-invested enterprises (see link below). These included Sino-foreign JVs and also wholly foreign-owned enterprises. A few examples are:

• Alfa Laval Flow Equipment Kunshan Co., Ltd. (Swedish WFOE)
• Rose Plastic (Kunshan) Co.,Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Kirchhoff Automotive (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Kern-Liebers (Taicang) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Rosenberger Technology (Kunshan) Co. Ltd. (German WFOE)
• KATHREIN Automotive Products (Suzhou) Co., Ltd (German WFOE)
• Faist Precision Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (Italian WFOE)
• Marsilli Automation Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd (Italian WFOE)
• Delta Plus (China) Co. Ltd (French WFOE)
• Mersen Advanced Graphites (Kunshan) Co., Ltd. (French WFOE)
• Faurecia (Wuxi) Seating Components Co., Ltd. (French WFOE)
• DSM Eternal Resins (Kunshan) Co., Ltd. (Dutch-Taiwan JV)
• UPM (China) Co., Ltd (Finnish WFOE)
• VCST Automotive Components (Changzhou) Co, Ltd. (Belgian WFOE)
• SIG Combibloc (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (Swiss WFOE)
• Raytheon Power Machinery (Suzhou) Co., Ltd (UK WFOE)
• Pollmann Mechatronics (Kunshan) Co., Ltd (Austrian WFOE)
• Miba Precision Components (China) Co.,Ltd (Austrian WFOE)
• Delstar Technologies (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (US WFOE)
• Yingtemei Photo-Electric (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (US WFOE)
• Aksa Power Generation (China) Co., Ltd. (Turkish WFOE)
• U-COAT Suzhou Corporation (Japan-South Korea JV)
• Glory Denshi Kogyo (Suzhou) Ltd. (Japan WFOE)
• IHI-Sullair Compression Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (Japan-US JV)
• SPG Motor (SUZHOU) Co., Ltd. (South Korean WFOE)

* Note: for instance, The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China in its Position Papers argues that the requirement on core IP may create an uneven playing field between domestic and international companies. This would be because the main technologies of the Chinese affiliates of foreign companies in part may still rely on the main technologies and products initially developed outside China and is still owned there, despite these companies now playing an increasingly important role in the Chinese innovation ecosystem.

Useful links:

2018 application announcement

2018 list of results (4^th batch)

2018 list of results (1^st batch)

2017 application announcement

The High- and New-Technology Enterprise (HNTE) Cultivation Fund is a fund established by the Jiangsu Provincial S&T Department to support the growth of MSMEs that aim to apply to the HNTE status. Selected enterprises will receive funding or subsidies according to their development needs.

Target:

High-tech enterprises (especially MSMEs) with plans to apply to the national HNTE status in the short-term.

Eligibility requirements:

• The applicant shall be an enterprise who has been officially registered within Jiangsu province for over 1 year, and which has never been granted HNTE status since 2008;
• Own IP rights of the key technologies which show core support to the enterprise’s main products (services). Such rights may be obtained through independent R&D, transfer, donation, or mergers and acquisitions;
• The technologies which show core support to the enterprise’s main products (services) shall belong to one of the areas outlined in the Catalogue of High- and New-Technology Areas Specifically Supported by the State;
• At least 5% of the total number of the enterprise’s employees should be engaged in R&D and related activities;
• R&D expenditures in the last two financial years should account to at least 3% of the enterprise’s total sales revenue in the same period. In addition, at least 60% of the enterprise’s total R&D expenditure must be incurred in China.
• Income derived from high- and new-technology products (services) should amount to at least 50% of the enterprise’s total revenue;
• The assessment of the enterprise’ innovation capabilities is in line with relevant standards;
• The enterprise should have not occurred any major safety or quality incident in the previous year, and should have not had any behaviour against the law.

What are the benefits?

Funding and subsidies will be made available to selected enterprises according to their specific development needs, although relevant regulations do not provide specific details.

When and where are calls published? And method of application

Applications can be submitted at any time of the year to the municipal or district-level S&T authorities. Candidates will be selected from each jurisdiction in Jiangsu after peer review and according to a series of factors specified in relevant regulations (e.g. number of selected candidates in the previous year from the same district/municipality, how many were then successfully granted national HNTE status, how many of these were MSMEs, etc.).

Lists of selected candidates will be announced on the website of the Jiangsu Provincial S&T Department (link to latest 2018 results below).

International participation: opportunities and figures

Around 3,000-4,000 enterprises are selected every year (3,735 in 2018). Although the vast majority are Chinese domestic MSMEs, a few instances of wholly foreign-owned enterprises or Sino-European JVs, such as Ponzini Health and Beauty High-Tech (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (Italian WFOE); Marsilli Automation Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd (Italian WFOE); Afriso Measurement Control Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE); GMICOU Thermal Technology (Huai’an) Co., Ltd (German WFOE); Jacobs (Suzhou) Vehicle Control Systems Co.,Ltd. (US WFOE); SPG Motor (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (South Korean WFOE); Getec Automotive Technology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. (Sino-German JV), etc.

Useful links:

Management Measures for the Jiangsu Province HNTE Cultivation Fund (Trial)

2018 list of winners

2017 list of winners

The Enterprise R&D Expenditure Reward Fund is a fund established by the Jiangsu Provincial Finance Department to guide and encourage local enterprises to increase their investments in R&D. Eligible enterprises will receive a reward.

Target:

Enterprises (especially MSMEs) which have not been granted High- and New-Technology Enterprise (HNTE) status

Eligibility requirements:

• Enterprise with independent legal personality in Jiangsu province;
• The enterprise in the year of application should have enjoyed pre-tax deduction policies for R&D spending in line with relevant national policies (see MOF’s Notice on Increasing the Proportion of Pre-tax Deduction for R&D expenditure);
• The enterprise in the year of application should have not enjoyed the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) benefits granted by HNTE status.

What are the benefits?

A reward will be granted to eligible enterprises, although relevant regulations do not provide specific details. The reward should be used in R&D activities.

When and where are calls published? And method of application

No applications are needed from enterprises. Rewards are granted by the provincial finance and S&T departments based on annual budget and work plan: the finance department will compile independently lists of eligible enterprises and forward them to the S&T department. Criteria for selection are however not specified by relevant regulations. Lists of selected candidates will be announced on the website of the Jiangsu Provincial S&T Department (link to latest 2017 results below).

International participation: opportunities and figures

Thousands of enterprises are rewarded every year (over 14,000 in 2018). Although the vast majority are Chinese domestic MSMEs, a few instances of wholly foreign-owned enterprises or Sino-European JVs, such as Arkema (Changshu) Chemicals Co., Ltd. (French WFOE); Bosch Automotive Systems (Wuxi) Company (German WFOE); Brevini (Yancheng) Planetary Drives Co.,Ltd. (Italian WFOE); Asteelflash (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (French WFOE); IPS (Suzhou) New Materials Co., Ltd. (French WFOE); Fuba Automotive Electronics (Suzhou) Co., Ltd (German WFOE); Astenjohnson Technical Fabrics (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (US WFOE); Novosana (Taicang) Biotechnology Co., Ltd (Dutch WFOE); Fasta (Wuxi) Medical Devices Co., Ltd (Australian WFOE); Yawei-Reis Robotics Manufacturing (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (Sino-German JV); Puritek (Zhangjiagang) Environmental Technologies Co., Ltd; etc.

Useful links:

Management Measures for the Jiangsu Provincial Enterprise R&D Expenditure Reward Fund (Trial)

2018 list of winners

2017 list of winners

The Jiangsu Provincial Technology Transfer Fund is a fund established by the Jiangsu Provincial S&T and Finance departments to stimulate local enterprises to launch technology transfer and commercialisation projects within Jiangsu province, thus strengthening the link between scientific research and the industry, and contributing to economic development. Subsidies or grants are given to selected enterprises for expenses incurred during pilot production or commercialisation, for bank loan interest rates, or for the achievement of certain tasks. The Fund is divided into two main programmes:

• Key industry programme (A programme), supporting projects in strategic key industries such as ICT, intelligent manufacturing, high-end equipment, strategic materials, advanced energy, pharmaceuticals, etc. (sectors may vary every year);
• High-tech zones bidding programme (B programme), supporting local governments to join forces with high-tech zones to launch technology transfer projects on a larger scale (each area is assigned a certain number of projects every year).

Applications can be submitted by applications only to the first programme (A programme)

Target:

Enterprises; SMEs.

Eligibility requirements:

The applicant enterprise should meet the following requirements

• Enterprise with independent legal personality and registered in Jiangsu province before 1 January 2017. Universities and research structures can participate as minor partners;
• Good capacities and conditions for R&D and commercialisation, with constantly growing R&D investments, and a dedicated R&D entity/body established.
• R&D expenditures in the last two financial years should account to a certain percentage of the enterprise’s total sales revenue in the same period:
• Over 5% if total revenue is below 50 million RMB;
• Over 4% if total revenue is between 50 and 200 million RMB;
• Over 3% if total revenue exceeds 200 million RMB.
• Good financial situation (annual turnover generally should be over 30 million RMB), with profits generated for at least two consecutive years, debt asset ratio not exceeding 70%.
• Enterprises can apply only to 1 project every year.
• Enterprises which are already implementing a project under the Jiangsu Technology Transfer Fund, Key R&D Programmes, or other provincial-level funding programmes.

The project for which the application is submitted must meet the following requirements:

• In line with national and local development strategies and policies;
• Clear tasks and objectives;
• The technology should have a high degree of maturity, and should be in line with the priority areas indicated in the annual calls for application.
• The project should own IPR, should be highly-innovative, should have an advanced technology level (domestically or internationally), and should have high potential for economic and social spill-over;
• Projects involving pharmaceuticals should have completed phase II clinical trials and already entered into phase III trials. Projects involving medical equipment should have already successfully completed prototype testing; projects involving agricultural seeds, production safety, animal experiments, etc., should have already obtained relevant permissions or licenses.
• Technology upgrading programmes are not supported by the Fund.

What are the benefits?

Three types of benefits are granted to selected enterprises:

• Compensations for expenses incurred during pilot production or commercialisation
• Subsidies for bank loan interest rates for loans taken for the implementation of the technology transfer commercialisation project;
• Compensations for completed projects which have successfully achieved the expected objectives and tasks.

In any case, the total amount of financial support received from the Jiangsu Technology Transfer Fund cannot exceed 30% of the project’s total budget.

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis (usually in January), on the Jiangsu S&T Project Management Platform. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 6 weeks from the date of publication of the call.

Method of application:

Applicants must receive official endorsement from the district-level or city-level S&T bureaus where they are officially registered (there are limits on the maximum number of applications that can be endorsed by each jurisdiction every year). Online applications are submitted through the Jiangsu S&T Project Management Platform (an official account should be created on the system in order to submit applications). Hard copy versions of the application materials should also be submitted to specific offices indicated in the application guidelines. Industry-university-research projects should also register on the relevant service platform.

International participation: opportunities and figures

6 out of 124 of approved projects in 2018 belonged to foreign-invested enterprises. In the totality of cases, however, these were enterprises invested by or incorporated in Hong Kong, or established by overseas Chinese returnees or ethnic Chinese foreign nationals.

Useful links:

2018 call for application

2018 list of winners

2017 call for application

The Nanjing High- and New-Technology Enterprise Cultivation Pool consists of a pool of tech enterprises that aim to apply – in the short term – to the national High- and New-Technology Enterprise (HNTE) status. Other municipalities in Jiangsu province (e.g. Suzhou), as well as the provincial-level administration, also have similar programmes.

Target:

High-tech enterprises (especially MSMEs) with plans to apply to the national HNTE status in the short-term.

Eligibility requirements:

• The applicant shall be an enterprise who has been officially registered within Nanjing municipality for over 1 year, and which has never been granted HNTE status since 2008;
• Own IP rights of the key technologies which show core support to the enterprise’s main products (services). Such rights may be obtained through independent R&D, transfer, donation, or mergers and acquisitions;
• The technologies which show core support to the enterprise’s main products (services) shall belong to one of the areas outlined in the Catalogue of High- and New-Technology Areas Specifically Supported by the State;
• At least 5% of the total number of the enterprise’s employees should be engaged in R&D and related activities;
• R&D expenditures in the last two financial years should account to at least 3% of the enterprise’s total sales revenue in the same period. In addition, at least 60% of the enterprise’s total R&D expenditure must be incurred in China.
• Income derived from high- and new-technology products (services) should amount to at least 40% of the enterprise’s total revenue;
• The assessment of the enterprise’ innovation capabilities is in line with relevant standards;
• The enterprise should have not occurred any major safety or quality incident in the previous year, and should have not had any behaviour against the law.

What are the benefits?

Relevant application calls and regulations do not specify what are the benefits obtained by candidates which are successfully inserted into the HNTE Cultivation Pool. Other municipalities in Jiangsu province (e.g. Suzhou) will grant them R&D subsidies as well as support when applying to other municipal projects; rewards will also be granted in case the enterprise in the Pool is officially recognised as national HNTE.

When and where are calls published?

Calls for the selection of new enterprises in the cultivation pool are published every year on the web portal of the Nanjing Municipal S&T Commission. The deadline for submitting applications is generally 2-4 weeks from the publishing date.

Method of application:

Applicants must first receive endorsement from the district- S&T and finance bureaus where they are registered. Applications must then be submitted to specific offices indicated in annual calls.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Similarly to Suzhou, around 1,000 enterprises are selected every year and included in the cultivation pool. Nearly the totality are Chinese domestic MSMEs: only three cases of WFOEs were identified in 2018, including the German Kommerling (Nanjing) New Materials Co., Ltd.

Useful links:

Implementing Rules of the Nanjing HNTE Cultivation Pool (Trial)

2018 call for application (2^nd batch)

2018 list of selected enterprises (1^st batch)

2017 call for application

In line with the Several Policy Measures for Establishing a World-renowned Innovation City with Global Influence (Ning Wei Fa [2018] No. 1) (Art. 5) issued by the Nanjing’s Branch of the CPC and the Nanjing Municipal People’s Government in January 2018, the Nanjing municipal administration offers subsidies to local S&T-based SMEs (keji xing zhongxiao qiye) for their R&D spending.

Target:

SMEs

Eligibility requirements:

• Independent legal personality in Nanjing;
• Solid financial and accounting mechanisms and operations;
• Officially recognised as “S&T-based SMEs”;
• Did not benefit, in the previous year, from any pre-tax deduction or amortisation preferential policy for R&D expenditure;
• Did not benefit, in the previous year, from the Corporate Income Tax rate deduction associated with High- and New-Technology Enterprise (HNTE) status.

What are the benefits?

Subsidies amounting to up to 10% of the enterprise’s R&D expenditure, for a maximum of 1 million RMB per year.

Method of application:

Requests for submitted can be submitted after relevant announcements are published online (see below). Application materials must be submitted to the office specified in each announcement.

When and where are calls published?

Announcements are published on an annual basis, usually in two batches in November, on the web portal of the Nanjing Municipal S&T Commission. The deadline for submitting the application is usually 1 week after the publishing date.

Useful links:

Implementation Measures for R&D Expenditure Subsidies for SMEs in Nanjing (Trial)

2018 announcement (2^nd batch)

2018 announcement (1^st batch)

In line with the Several Policy Measures for Establishing a World-renowned Innovation City with Global Influence (Ning Wei Fa [2018] No. 1) (Art. 5) issued by the Nanjing’s Branch of the CPC and the Nanjing Municipal People’s Government in January 2018, the Nanjing municipal administration offers rewards to local start-ups for the first three years after they start to generate profits for the first time. The rewards are based on the corporate taxes paid by the start-up, and are intended to be dedicated to R&D and innovation.

Target:

Start-ups.

Eligibility requirements:

• Privately-held enterprise registered in Nanjing;
• Established less than 5 years before the application to rewards is submitted;
• Total personnel employed in the year in which the application is submitted should not exceed 200, 30% of which should hold a Bachelor’s Degree (or above);
• Both the total asset value and annual sales revenue in the year in which the application is submitted should not exceed 30 million RMB;
• Total R&D expenditure in the year in which the application is submitted should account to at least 20% of the start-up costs (defined as operational costs, management costs, sales costs, financial costs).

What are the benefits?

The corporate income taxes paid to the local administration in the first 3 years after profits are generated for the first time will be returned back to the start-up.

Method of application:

Applications for rewards are submitted to the Nanjing Municipal S&T Commission every year in May.

Useful links:

Implementing Rules of the Nanjing Rewards for Start-ups’ Contributions to the Local Economy (Trial)

In addition to up to 1 million RMB obtainable from the Nanjing Municipal Indigenous IPR Development Programme (see corresponding factsheet below), the municipal adminsitration in Nanjing offers a wide range of incentives for local entities contributing to Nanjing’s development as a national “IPR strong city”.

Some of these measures specifically target enterprises and SMEs, including:

• 5,000 RMB for each innovation patent obtained in China;
• 10,000 RMB for each high-quality innovation patent obtained in China;
• 30,000 RMB for each PCT patent obtained
• (limit of 500,000 RMB per entity)
• Up to 500,000 RMB every year for best performing IPR service agents;
• Up to 500,000 RMB for newly-recognised Municipal (or above) IP Demonstration Enterprise.

Nanjing IPR Development Project

The local administration every year also funds several projects for enterprises which commit to the development of patents in certain sectors (see Nanjing IPR Development Project below). Compensations of up to 1 million RMB/project plus other loan incentives (such as IPR-based collaterals) are offered for projects in major key fields (e.g. integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, new energy vehicles, and biomedicine); other compensations of up to 200,000 RMB/project are offered for projects in other local priority industries, such as advanced manufacturing and advanced services.

Useful links:

Implementation Measures for the Establishment of Nanjing as a High-level National IPR Strong City (Trial)

2018 call for application for the Nanjing IPR Development Project

The Suzhou High- and New-Technology Enterprise Cultivation Pool consists of a pool of tech enterprises that aim to apply – in the short term – to the national High- and New-Technology Enterprise (HNTE) status. Selected enterprises will become eligible to receive funding or subsidies according to their development needs.

Target:

High-tech enterprises (especially MSMEs) with plans to apply to the national HNTE status in the short-term.

Eligibility requirements:

• The applicant shall be an enterprise who has been officially registered within Jiangsu province for over 1 year, and which has never been granted HNTE status since 2008;
• Own IP rights of the key technologies which show core support to the enterprise’s main products (services). Such rights may be obtained through independent R&D, transfer, donation, or mergers and acquisitions;
• The technologies which show core support to the enterprise’s main products (services) shall belong to one of the areas outlined in the Catalogue of High- and New-Technology Areas Specifically Supported by the State;
• At least 5% of the total number of the enterprise’s employees should be engaged in R&D and related activities;
• R&D expenditures in the last two financial years should account to at least 3% of the enterprise’s total sales revenue in the same period. In addition, at least 60% of the enterprise’s total R&D expenditure must be incurred in China.
• Income derived from high- and new-technology products (services) should amount to at least 50% of the enterprise’s total revenue;
• The assessment of the enterprise’ innovation capabilities is in line with relevant standards;
• The enterprise should have not occurred any major safety or quality incident in the previous year, and should have not had any behaviour against the law.

What are the benefits?

Enterprises in the cultivation pool will become eligible to apply for R&D subsidies amounting to a maximum of 200,000 RMB. They will also receive support when applying to other municipal-level funding programmes. Enterprises in the pool which are successfully recognised as national HNTEs will receive 300,000 RMB of reward.

When and where are calls published?

Calls for the selection of new enterprises in the cultivation pool are published every year on the website of the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau. The deadline for submitting applications is generally 4-6 weeks from the publishing date.

Method of application:

Online applications must be submitted through the website of the Jiangsu Province Technology Exchange Centre (an account must be created). Hard copy versions must also be submitted to relevant district or subcity level authorities.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Similarly to Nanjing, around 1,000 enterprises are selected every year and included in the cultivation pool. Although the vast majority are Chinese domestic MSMEs, a few instances of European WFOEs was identified, such as Marsilli Automation Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. and Ponzini Health and Beauty High-Tech (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (Italian WFOEs); Swoboda Kunshan Co., Ltd. and Afriso Measurement Control Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (German WFOEs); SIG Combibloc (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (Swiss WFOE); Microtek Manufacturing Solutions (Suzhou) Co., Ltd; etc. Many other cases of Japanese and Singaporean WFOEs were also identified.

Useful links:

Implementing Rules of the Suzhou HNTE Cultivation Pool (Trial)

2018 call for application

2018 list of selected enterprises

2017 call for application

2017 list of selected enterprises

2018 application for R&D subsidies of enterprises in the pool

Similarly to the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centres, or the National Engineering Research Technology Centres under the Bases and Talents Programme, the Suzhou Municipal Enterprise Engineering Research Centre is a status given to certain Suzhou-based enterprises with strong conditions and capacities for innovation, dedicated to market- and industry-oriented engineering R&D, verification, application and integration of core technologies in key areas. Being recognised as Suzhou Municipal Enterprise Engineering Research Centre guarantees particular support when applying to other provincial- or national-level funding programmes.

Target:

Enterprises; SMEs.

Eligibility requirements:

The candidate enterprise must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Registered within the Suzhou municipality before January 2017;
• Annual operational revenue in the previous year above 20 million RMB, at least 3% of which should have been used for R&D activities;
• The project for which the application is submitted should generally last 3 years and exceed 3 million RMB. By the end of the project, major results will have to be obtained;
• Employs at least 10 R&D personnel (Bachelor’s degree or above);
• The extension of the R&D facilities should exceed 500 sqm, with the value of relevant facilities and equipment exceeding 2 million RMB;
• Possession of at least 1 IPR in the relevant technology sector (invention patent, utility models, software certificate, integrated circuit layout design, etc.);
• Only one application can be submitted by each applicant every year.

What are the benefits?

It is not clear whether selected Suzhou Municipal Enterprise Engineering Research Centres will receive any financial support/reward from the local administration. Similar facilities in other municipalities (e.g. Nanjing) and at the provincial level do. What is clear is that selected facilities will receive strong support from local authorities when applying to other municipal-, provincial- or national-level funding programmes, such as NKPs or Megaprojects.

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis (usually during the third quarter), on the web portal of the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau. Applications are usually published together with those for the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centre (see corresponding factsheet above). The deadline for submitting application is generally within 5-6 weeks from the date of publication of the call.

Method of application:

Applicants must first receive endorsement from the district- or subcity-level S&T bureaus where they are registered. Applications are then submitted online through the Suzhou S&T Programme Management Platform.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Unlike the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centres, where nearly the totality of approved facilities belonged to Chinese domestic entities, large evidence of FIEs – and in particular WFOEs – was identified in approved Suzhou Municipal Enterprise Engineering Research Centres, both in 2017 and 2018 (percentages between 5% and 10% of the total). The vast majority were German and Taiwanese WFOEs; participation from other EU Member States was nearly absent. A few examples below:

• Baoneike-Changshun Automobile Inner Decoration Materials (Zhangjiagang) Co., Ltd. (Sino-German JV)
• Hilite Automotive Systems (Changshu) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Kern-Liebers (Taicang) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
  GIF-Romax Powertrain Technologies (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Hottinger Baldwin Measuremen (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Messer Specialty Gases (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Vorwerk Autotec(Suzhou) Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Technoform Bautec (Suzhou) Thermal Insulation Material Co., Ltd. (German WFOE)
• Orkli Electronics (Kunshan) Co., Ltd (Spanish WFOE)
• Canadian General-Tower(Changshu) Co., Ltd (Canadian WFOE)
• Eutec Fine Chemical (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (Taiwan WFOE)
• Ruihong Precision Electronics (Taicang) Co., Ltd.  (Taiwan WFOE)
• TopFlex Corporation (Kunshan) (Taiwan WFOE)
• Well Shin Electronic (Kunshan)Co., Ltd (Taiwan WFOE)

Useful links:

2018 call for application

2018 list of winners

2017 call for application

2017 list of winners

The Suzhou Technology Transfer Subsidy is a programme launched by the Suzhou municipal administration to encourage Suzhou-based tech enterprises to transfer and commercialise technology results from universities and research structures. Subsidies based on a proportion of the technology contract value will be granted to qualified enterprises.

Target:

Enterprises; SMEs.

Eligibility requirements:

Technology transfer or technology projects must meet the following requirements:

• The applicant is an enterprise with independent legal personality in Suzhou;
• The applicant is the transferee party or the principal of the technology transfer/development contract. The project should still be ongoing when the application is submitted;
• The technology contract should have been registered with relevant certification authorities (or commerce-related departments if involving foreign technology transfer)

Transfer of self-developed results:

• The owner of the invention patent, or the person with utilisation rights, should have established a legal entity in Suzhou within the previous 3 years, and should be one of the shareholders.

What are the benefits?

A certain proportion of the value of the technology contract will be subsidised to enterprises. The maximum limit of subsidies that can be received by one enterprise is 500,000 RMB per year.

Method of application:

Applicants need to register their technology transfer projects on the website of the Indigenous Innovation Trade Market, or on the Suzhou S&T Programme Management Platform. After approval, the application for the Technology Transfer Project Subsidy can be officially submitted.

When and where are calls published?

Technology transfer projects can generally be registered through the relevant platforms after an announcement is published in the first half every year. The deadline for registration is usually within 6-8 weeks from the publishing date.

International participation: opportunities and figures

According to the list of subsidised projects in 2017 and 2018 (links below), international participation in the programme is currently nearly absent: only 1 out of 35 projects in 2017 belonged to a foreign-invested enterprise (i.e. a Sino-foreign JV), while this number dropped to 0 in 2018. Reasons are unclear, but in any case international enterprises – especially SMEs – are well positioned to become beneficiaries of these subsidies, as it is the case in similar programmes in other municipalities (e.g. the “High- and New-Technology Transfer project “ in Shanghai).

Useful links:

2018 announcement of registrations

2018 list of selected projects

2017 announcement of registration

2017 list of selected projects

The Suzhou S&T Development Plan – Tech SME Financing Programme, is a dedicated programme launched by the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau to support local tech SMEs in obtaining finance – through risk compensations and loan interest subsidies, angel investments, etc. The objective is to reduce the cost of financing that inhibits the growth of many tech SMEs. The programme offers different forms of support:

• Technology credit: offering compensations to collaborative banks for their credit losses incurred in loans issued to SMEs for technology projects; and granting loan interest subsidies to SMEs for loans taken for implementing technology-related projects.
• Angel investment: rewarding angel investors which have already concluded investments in seed-stage start-ups in Suzhou; or directly participating in newly-established angel investment funds in Suzhou.
• Technology insurance premium subsidies: granting subsidies to tech enterprises or R&D structures for their technology insurance premiums.

Target, eligibility requirements, and benefits:

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis on the web portal of the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau – usually together with the calls of all the other programmes under the Suzhou S&T Development Plan (usually in the first batch in March). Different programmes have different application deadlines (see table above).

Method of application:

Applications are generally submitted online through the Suzhou S&T Programme Management Platform. Hard copy versions must also be printed and submitted.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Lists of beneficiaries of the above subsidies/compensations are not published online. However, there are no indications that foreign-invested SMEs are excluded from the programme.

Useful links:

2018 call for application

2017 call for application

The Suzhou S&T Development Plan – Subsidy Programme for Key Agriculture Technologies, is a dedicated programme established by the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau to further stimulate local entities to launch R&D on key agricultural technologies and products. Specifically, it grants subsidies to entities for their R&D spending, or for new agricultural varieties developed. The programme’s objective is to boost the development of modern agriculture and the development of new agricultural varieties, technologies, equipment, and models.

Target:

Enterprises; agricultural cooperatives; others (in case of new agricultural varieties).

Eligibility requirements:

• Possession of independent legal personality in Suzhou;
• Subsidies can be granted for R&D spending or new varieties developed during a two- or three-year period preceding the application.

What are the benefits?

For R&D projects, qualified applicants will receive subsidies amounting to 20% of the total R&D expenditure incurred (maximum 200,000 RMB). For each new agricultural variety developed, qualified applicants will receive 50,000 RMB (maximum 300,000 RMB in total).

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis on the web portal of the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau – usually together with the calls of all the other programmes under the Suzhou S&T Development Plan (usually in the first batch in March). The deadline for submitting applications is usually 4-5 weeks from the publishing date.

Method of application:

Applications are submitted online through the Suzhou S&T Programme Management Platform. Hard copy versions must also be printed and submitted. Applicants must also submit relevant R&D pre-tax deduction certificates issued by local tax authorities. After a pre-review and screening from relevant district or subcity-level S&T bureaus, eligible applications will be submitted to the Municipal S&T Bureau.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Lists of subsidies granted in 2017 and 2018 show that international participation is nearly absent: only one wholly foreign-owned enterprise was, in fact, among the beneficiaries (the Danish Suzhou Ovodan Foods Co., Ltd). Reasons are unclear, although may be partly related to the relatively low presence of European actors engaged in agricultural R&D in Jiangsu.

Useful links:

2018 call for application

2018 list of winners

2017 call for application

2017 list of winners

Similarly to the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centres, or the National Engineering Research Technology Centres under the Bases and Talents Programme, the Wuxi Municipal Engineering Research Centre is a status given to certain Wuxi-based enterprises with strong conditions and capacities for innovation, dedicated to market- and industry-oriented engineering R&D, verification, application and integration of core technologies in key areas. Being recognised as Wuxi Municipal Engineering Research Centre guarantees particular support when applying to other provincial- or national-level funding programmes.

Target:

Enterprises; SMEs.

Eligibility requirements:

The candidate enterprise must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Independent legal personality in Wuxi municipality. Particular priority granted to High- and New-Technology Enterprises (HNTE) and innovative enterprises;
• Clear R&D directions in line with national, provincial, and municipal industrial policies;
• Sales revenue in the previous year above 50 million RMB, at least 2% of which should have been invested for R&D activities;
• Possession of a team of at least 20 R&D or engineering research personnel, 1 or 2 of which should be leading profiles within their fields;
• The applicant should have adequate R&D facilities and space. The value of relevant facilities and equipment should exceed 2 million RMB;
• Possession of at least 3 IPRs obtained in the last three years, including new drug certificates, innovation patents, utility model patents, software copyright, integrated circuit layout designs, etc;
• The project for which the application is submitted should exceed 5 million RMB;
• Applicants with support from district-level authorities are encouraged.

What are the benefits?

It is not clear whether selected Wuxi Municipal Engineering Research Centres will receive any financial support/reward from the local administration. Similar facilities in other municipalities (e.g. Nanjing) and at the provincial level do. What is clear is that selected facilities will receive strong support from local authorities when applying to other municipal or provincial-level funding programmes, and especially the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centre programme.

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis (usually in the first half), on the web portal of the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau. The deadline for submitting application is generally within 4 weeks from the date of publication of the call (though earlier deadlines might apply for obtaining endorsement from subcity or district-level S&T bureaus, see below).

Method of application:

Applicants must first receive endorsement from the subcity or district-level S&T bureaus where they are registered. Applications are then officially submitted to the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Lists of results are generally only published for candidates based in Jiangyin city (subcity). No evidence of foreign-invested enterprises was however identified, unlike similar programmes in other Jiangsu municipalities (especially Suzhou, but also Nanjing).

Useful links:

2018 call for application

2018 list of winners in Jiangyin (3^rd batch)

2018 list of winners in Jiangyin (1^st batch)

2017 call for application

The Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau has established an ad hoc fund for supporting S&T development in Wuxi – the Wuxi S&T Development Fund. The Fund targets different actors, areas, and activities, and offers diversified forms of support.

Structure:

Specifically, the following programmes are supported by the Fund:

• Establishment of innovation alliances in the field of agriculture;
• Forward-looking key technologies (biomedicine);
• Forward-looking key technologies (agriculture);
• Forward-looking key technologies (industrial technologies);
• Technology SME Innovation Grants;
• International R&D Cooperation;
• Subsidies for S&T insurance;
• IP Demonstration Enterprise;
• Establishment and operation of IPR trading agencies;
• Innovation capacity-building platforms;
• R&D Subsidies for R&D Organisations;
• Tech Commercialisation Loan Interest Subsidies;
• IP Pledge Loan Interest Subsidies;
• Social development;
• Industry-university-research technology transfer.

Individual factsheets are provided below for the programmes highlighted in bold.

Who can participate? What are the eligibility requirements?

The eligibility requirements vary according to the specific programme, but in general applicants are expected to:

• Be registered in one of Wuxi’s districts (therefore excluding Jiangyin and Yixing municipalities);
• Have solid operational, management and financial mechanisms, as well as strong technology and research conditions and capabilities;
• Possess indigenous IPR;
• Not have any other ongoing similar projects which have received financial support from the provincial or municipal administration;
• Not have any ongoing disputes, or negative records.

What are the benefits?

Subsidies, grants, compensations, etc., depending on the specific programme.

When and where are calls published?

Calls for application are published on an annual basis, usually in the first months, on the web portal of the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau, as an annex of the Wuxi S&T Development Fund call. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 4-5 weeks from the date of publication.

Method for application:

Pre-applications must be submitted online through the Wuxi Modern Industrial Development Funding Administrative Service Platform. An official account must be created. Applications must be reviewed and pre-approved by the district level S&T and finance authorities – only after which the applicant can submit its official application (in hard copy version) to the Municipal S&T Bureau.

International participation: opportunities and figures

In addition to the programme specifically dedicated to international cooperation (‘International R&D Cooperation’, see below), international participation within the Wuxi S&T Development Fund appears very low, and generally limited to few programmes. Reasons are unclear, but there are no indicators suggesting that international participants are not encouraged to apply.

Useful links:

2018 call for applications

2018 list of winners

2017 list of winners

As part of the Wuxi S&T Development Fund, the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau has established and hoc programme granting subsidies for S&T or patent-related insurance purchased by local enterprises, including for: key R&D equipment, business interruption, export credit, asset insurance, product liability, product quality, employer liability, environmental pollution liability, investment-loss, senior management life accidents, and other insurances officially approved by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Who can participate? What are the eligibility requirements?

• Enterprises with independent legal personality in one of Wuxi’s districts, with stable economic and S&T capabilities. Priority is granted to HNTEs, S&T leading enterprises, and tech SMEs;
• The applicant’s R&D product belongs to one of the strategic and emerging industries whose development is encouraged by local policies;
• The costs incurred for purchasing the insurance should have been incurred not before the previous year in which the application is submitted. No other similar subsidies should have been obtained.

What are the benefits?

Subsidies of up to 50% of the insurance cost (max. 300,000 RMB).

When and where are calls published?

Calls for application are published on an annual basis on the web portal of the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau, as an annex of the Wuxi S&T Development Fund call. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 4-5 weeks from the date of publication.

Method of application:

Pre-applications must be submitted online through the Wuxi Modern Industrial Development Funding Administrative Service Platform. An official account must be created. Applications must be reviewed and pre-approved by the district level S&T and finance authorities – only after which the applicant can submit its official application (in hard copy version) to the Municipal S&T Bureau.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Two out of 32 approved subsidies in 2018 belonged to wholly foreign-owned enterprises: the American Memsic Semiconductor (Wuxi) Co., Ltd.; and the Singaporean Yongxin Precise Material (Wuxi) Co., Ltd.

Useful links:

2018 call for applications (see Annex 1-7)

2018 list of winners

2017 list of winners

As part of the Wuxi S&T Development Fund, the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau has established and hoc programme granting subsidies for loan interests paid by local enterprises on loans taken for the commercialisation of S&T results in Wuxi, especially when involving high value-added core units and major machines in strategic and emerging key industries – such as ICT, clean technologies, new materials, new energy, advanced manufacturing. The specific sectors and areas supported are specified every year in annual calls.

Note: a similar programme exists for IP pledge loan interests (see below).

Who can participate? What are the eligibility requirements?

The applicant enterprise should meet the following requirements:

• Enterprise with independent legal personality in one of Wuxi’s districts (thus excluding Jiangyin and Yixing municipalities), registered at least more than 1 year before the application, and with annual turnover exceeding 20 million RMB;
• R&D expenditure in the previous year exceeding 2% of sales revenue;
• Applicants which have other ongoing commercialisation projects which have received financial support from the provincial or municipal administration, are not eligible, together with those with negative records in the past 3 years.

The commercialisation project for which the application is submitted should meet the following requirements:

• In line with the priority sectors specified in the annual call, and with municipal and provincial industrial development policies;
• Possession of IPR in the relevant field (i.e. innovation patent, utility model patent, software copyright, integrated circuit layout design, etc). Projects with PCT patents and involving core technologies from research structures are particularly encouraged;
• The project’s total budget should exceed 30 million RMB;
• The project implementation period and the loan interest period should be around 2 years after the approval of the project.

What are the benefits?

Subsidies for up to 50% of the bank’s benchmark interest rate (max 1 million RMB/year, max 2 million RMB in total).

When and where are calls published?

Calls for application are published on an annual basis on the web portal of the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau, as an annex of the Wuxi S&T Development Fund call. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 4-5 weeks from the date of publication.

Method for application:

Pre-applications must be submitted online through the Wuxi Modern Industrial Development Funding Administrative Service Platform. An official account must be created. Applications must be reviewed and pre-approved by the district level S&T and finance authorities – only after which the applicant can submit its official application (in hard copy version) to the Municipal S&T Bureau.

International participation: opportunities and figures

No evidence of international participation was identified in the lists of approved projects in 2017 and 2018. However, there are no indicators suggesting that FIEs are not encouraged to apply.

Useful links:

2018 call for applications (see Annex 1-14)

2018 list of winners

2017 list of winners

IP Pledge Loan Interest (see Annex 1-15)

As part of the Wuxi S&T Development Fund, the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau has established and hoc programme offering grants to local SMEs that conduct research projects in key priority areas of: electronics and information, optical and mechanical integration, new materials, new energy and clean technologies, biology and food engineering. Particular priority is granted to tech SMEs which are based in Wuxi’s S&T industrial parks (provincial-level or above), S&T incubators (provincial-level or above), makerspaces and university incubators (municipal-level or above).

Who can participate? What are the eligibility requirements?

Applicant SMEs should meet the following requirements:

• Sales turnover below 20 million RMB in the previous year, with independent legal personality in Wuxi (registered for at least 1 year before the call for application is published);
• Total number of employees should not exceed 300, at least 10% of which should be fully dedicated to R&D or technology innovation activities;
• R&D expenditure in the previous year exceeding at least 5% of the sales revenue (excluding newly-established start-ups);
• Priority granted to SMEs which have won Jiangsu provincial-level innovation and entrepreneurship competitions.

The projects for which the application is submitted must meet the following requirements:

• In line with national development policies; possession of indigenous IPR.
• The grant requested should not account to more than 40% of the project’s budget.

What are the benefits?

Grants of up to 200,000 RMB per project.

When and where are calls published?

Calls for application are published on an annual basis on the web portal of the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau, as an annex of the Wuxi S&T Development Fund call. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 4-5 weeks from the date of publication.

Method for application:

Pre-applications must be submitted online through the Wuxi Modern Industrial Development Funding Administrative Service Platform. An official account must be created. Applications must be reviewed and pre-approved by the district level S&T and finance authorities – only after which the applicant can submit its official application (in hard copy version) to the Municipal S&T Bureau.

International participation: opportunities and figures

International participation within the programme is very low: in 2017, only one out of 51 SMEs was a foreign-invested enterprise: the American Amprius (Wuxi) Co., Ltd. (WFOE).

Useful links:

2018 call for applications (see Annex 1-4)

2017 list of winners

The Jiangsu “Mass Innovation and Entrepreneurship” Talent Programme is a dedicated programme for the recruitment of high-level innovation and entrepreneurship returnees or foreign talents. Since 2007, the Programme has been offering financial support every year to hundreds of high-level overseas innovators and entrepreneurs who have returned or moved to Jiangsu province for conducting research or start businesses in key industries, particularly: ICT, high-end software, biotechnologies, pharmaceuticals, new materials, high-end manufacturing, environment-friendly technologies, new energies, internet of things, aerospace and marine equipment, and digital industries.

Structure and target:

The Jiangsu “Mass Innovation and Entrepreneurship” (shuang chuang) Talent Programme is divided into three categories:

• Shuang Chuang talents: individual talents engaging in entrepreneurship, or conducting innovation activities in enterprises, universities, research structures, or involving health, culture, or high-technologies.
• Shuang Chuang teams: teams engaging in innovation/entrepreneurship in science and technology, strategic emerging industries, software and internet, education, modern agriculture, service outsourcing, health, or winners of Nobel prizes, winners of the national “1,000 Talents Plan”, or foreign academicians.
• Shuang Chuang D.: young talents with Ph.D. engaging in entrepreneurship, or conducting innovation in enterprises, post-doc stations, county-level hospitals, or world-renowned universities.

Eligibility requirements:

The eligibility requirements vary depending on the category, but are in general include:

• Master’s degree (Ph.D. required for some industries and for ‘shuang chuang Ph.D.’ category);
• Should have already returned or moved to Jiangsu, and should remain within the province generally for 3 or 5 years;
• Age limits (55 or 65 years; 35 years for ‘shuang chuang Ph.D.’ category);
• Winners of the national level 1,000 Talents Plan or other provincial-level talent programmes are generally not eligible for this programme (with the exception of the ‘shuang chuang teams’ category).

What are the benefits?

• Shuang Chuang talents: 500,000 to 3 million RMB will be granted over three years (at least 30% of which for living allowance).
• Shuang Chuang teams: in addition to 3 million to 30 million RMB granted for the project, additional 3 million to 8 million RMB will be granted over three year to the team (at least 30% of which for living allowance).
• Shuang Chuang D.s: 150,000 RMB over two years.

In addition, selected talents will receive all-round support in dealing with administrative procedures such as visa, housing, schooling for their children, conversion of driving license, etc.

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis (usually in April), on the web portal of the Jiangsu Provincial S&T Department. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 6 weeks from the date of publication of the call, although in many cases, specific municipalities or host institutions where the applicants are based/employed will have internal deadlines for submission.

Method of application:

Online applications are submitted on the Jiangsu Provincial High-level Talent Application Management Platform. Hard copy versions of the application materials should also be submitted as indicated in the application guidelines.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Based on the list of winners in 2018 (link below), the ‘shuang chuang talents’ and the ‘shuang chuang teams’ seem to be fairly open to foreign talents, including non-ethnic Chinese, while no foreign talents were selected under the ‘shuang chuang Ph.D.’ category. The specific figures of international participation divided by category are:

Useful links

2018 call for applications

2017 call for applications

2018 list of winners

The Jiangsu Provincial Basic Research Programme (Natural Science Fund) was established nearly two decades ago by the provincial government to support original innovative research in the field of natural sciences, and to contribute to talent growth in Jiangsu province – particularly young talents. Two categories of programmes are funded every year by the Fund:

1. Young Talent programme: further divided into:
   • Distinguished Young Scholar projects: designed to support young scholars that have the potential to be selected, in the short-term, as National Distinguished Young Scholars (i.e. a particular category of the National Natural Science Fund).
   • Excellent Young Scholar projects: designed to support talented young scholars who have successfully completed projects under the Young Scientist Fund (see below), in order to allow them to continue their research to achieve additional results.
   • Young Scientist Fund: encouraging young scientists to conduct exploratory research.
2. General programme: with no limits in terms of specific research topic or field

Eligibility requirements:

1. Young Talent programme:
   • Distinguished Young Scholar projects: employed full-time in a research institute, university or enterprise registered in Jiangsu province; Ph.D. degree or senior technologist job title; age below 40 years; previous experience in implementing national- or provincial-level STI programmes (excluding some categories of the National Natural Science Fund);
   • Excellent Young Scholar projects: have successfully concluded and delivered in the previous year one project under the Young Scientist Fund (see below);
   • Young Scientist Fund: employed full-time in a research institute, university or enterprise registered in Jiangsu province; Ph.D. degree or senior technologist job title; age below 35-38 years; no previous experience in implementing national- or provincial-level STI programmes.
2. General programme: employed full-time in a research institute, university or enterprise registered in Jiangsu province

There are limits in terms of number of candidates that can be recommended by each university, research structure, or enterprise (specific numbers are indicated in annual calls).

What are the benefits?

1. Young Talent programme:
   • Distinguished Young Scholar projects: up to 1 million RMB;
   • Excellent Young Scholar projects: up to 500,000 RMB;
   • Young Scientist Fund: up to 200,000 RMB.
2. General programme: up to 100,000 RMB.

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis (usually in January), on the Jiangsu S&T Project Management Platform. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 6 weeks from the date of publication of the call.

Method of application:

Online applications are submitted through the Jiangsu S&T Project Management Platform (an official account should be created on the system in order to submit applications). Hard copy versions of the application materials should also be submitted to specific offices indicated in the application guidelines.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Jiangsu-based affiliates of foreign universities, research structures and enterprises are eligible to apply. For instance, 3 projects under the Young Scientist Fund in 2018 were assigned to the Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. The same university in the same year was also assigned three projects under the General Programme.

Useful links:

Management Measures of the Jiangsu Provincial Basic Research Programme (Natural Science Fund) (Trial)

2018 call for applications

2018 list of winners

2017 call for applications

2017 list of winners

The Nanjing municipal administration has established a dedicated plan aimed at attracting world-renowned talents to start businesses in Nanjing. Different programmes targeting different categories of experts exist, including:

• ‘Top Expert Gathering Programme’: specifically targeting Nobel prize winners; Chinese or developed countries “academicians”; winners of the national highest S&T award; awardees of the exceptional talent categories under the “1,000 Talents Plan” or the “10,000 Talents Plan”; winners of the Jiangsu Provincial ‘Mass Innovation and Entrepreneurship’ Talent programme;
• ‘Innovation Entrepreneur Cultivation Programme’: specifically targeting entrepreneur that have already established a company in Nanjing, and that at the same time have been awarded the “1,000 Talents Plan”, the “10,000 Talents Plan”, or the Jiangsu Provincial ‘Mass Innovation and Entrepreneurship’ Talent programme – particularly in national and local key priority industries.

Eligibility requirements:

In addition to the above qualification-related requirements applying to the individual experts, there are other eligibility requirements applying to the companies established by them (e.g. capital registered exceeding 1 million or 10 million RMB; sales revenue exceeding 5 million or 10 million RMB, etc), and to the projects launched (e.g. possession of indigenous IPR, advanced technology level, etc).

What are the benefits?

Financial support is given according to the qualification of the talent, generally starting from 1 million RMB to 10 million RMB. Other support in leasing or purchasing relevant R&D space and facility is also granted, together with housing, living, and other administrative support. Talents will also be actively supported and endorsed to apply large national-level projects, such as NKPs and Megaprojects.

When and where are calls published?

Calls are published on an annual basis. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 6-8 weeks from the date of publication of the call.

Method of application:

Online applications are submitted on the web portal of the “Nanjing Entrepreneurship” Talent Plan. Hard copy versions must also be submitted to an ad hoc office specified in annual calls.

International participation: opportunities and figures

The lists of awardees of the talent programme are not published online. There are, however, no indicators that foreign talents are excluded from the programme, as long as they meet the necessary eligibility requirements.

Useful links:

Implementing Rules of the ‘Top Expert Gathering Programme’

Implementing Rules of the ‘Innovation Entrepreneur Cultivation Programme’

2018 call for application

The Nanjing Municipal “345” Overseas Talent Recruitment Programme, is a dedicated programme for the recruitment of high-level innovation and entrepreneurship returnees or foreign talents in Nanjing. The Programme offers substantial subsidies, rewards and administrative support to both the recruiting entity and the talent. The Programme targets three different types of recruitment:

• “3” – urgently needed foreign experts (referred to as “3 Plan”)
• “4” – overseas high-level innovation teams (referred to as “4 Plan”)
• “5” – overseas expert studio soft recruitment (referred to as “5 Plan”).

Target and eligibility requirements:

What are the benefits?

Different types of benefits are associated with the Programme:

• Financial support to recruiting entities, including:
• 600,000 RMB per year (maximum for 3 years) to support the talent’s remuneration;
• Performance awards;
• Up to 5 million RMB of project support;
• Other travel and accommodation subsidies for talents under the “5 Plan”.
• Particular endorsement to recruited talents in applying to national “1,000 Talents Plan”, the Jiangsu Provincial “Mass Innovation and Entrepreneurship” Plan (see corresponding factsheet above), as well as special recognitions and friendship awards from both the provincial and central government.
• Administrative, housing and living support to recruited talents, including 5-year residence permits, medical insurance, schooling for children, housing subsidies, Nanjing Citizen Card (A Card), etc.

When and where are calls published?

Calls are published on an annual basis, usually between March and May, on the website of the Nanjing Municipal People’s Government or on that of the Nanjing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau.

Method of application:

Applications must be submitted by the hiring entity to district level bureaus of human resources and social security. After a preliminary screening and evaluation, applications are then submitted to municipal-level authorities.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Foreign experts can only be hired by Chinese domestic entities or Sino-foreign JVs with Chinese majority.

Useful links:

Implementing Rules of the Nanjing Municipal “345” Overseas Talent Recruitment Programme (Trial)

2018 call for applications

In line with the Several Policy Measures for Establishing a World-renowned Innovation City with Global Influence (Ning Wei Fa [2018] No. 1) issued by the Nanjing’s Branch of the CPC and the Nanjing Municipal People’s Government in January 2018, the Nanjing municipal administration offers rewards to Nanjing-based high-level innovation and entrepreneurship talents operating in one of the local priority industries (i.e. “4+4+1” industries – advanced manufacturing, advanced services, and future industries). The rewards are based on the contributions made by them to the local economy.

Eligibility requirements:

In order to qualify for the reward, one of the following criteria must be met:

• Team leader or core team member of innovation teams in Nanjing Municipal R&D Organisations (e.g. Nanjing Municipal Engineering Research Centre, see corresponding factsheet above), employed for at least 3 years, and with total income in the previous year exceeding 500,000 RMB (including revenue generated from technology transfer, equity incentives, etc). A maximum of 6 people can be recommended by one R&D Organisation;
• Team leader or core team member of innovation teams in Nanjing-based HNTEs, employed for at least 3 years, and with total income in the previous year exceeding 500,000 RMB (including revenue generated from technology transfer, equity incentives, etc). A maximum of 6 people can be recommended by one HNTE;
• Technology managers, talent brokers offering technology transfer or headhunting services to local enterprises, with total sales income generated in the previous year from local enterprises exceeding 500,000 RMB;
• Business angels (as defined by the Pilot Tax Policy for Venture Capital Firms and Business Angel Investors issued by MOF and SAT) who have invested in local start-ups for over 2 years through direct equity investments, and whose value-added revenue from equity transactions in the previous year exceeds 500,000 RMB (nation-wide or region-wide).

What are the benefits?

For the first three categories of talents, rewards amounting to the value of the income taxes paid to the local administration will be granted. For the last category of talents, a reward amounting to 14% of the investment amount on the start-up will be granted.

Method of application:

Applications for rewards are submitted to the Nanjing Municipal S&T Commission every year in April.

Useful links:

Implementation Measures of the Nanjing Rewards for High-level Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talents’ Contributions to the Local Economy (Trial)

In line with the Several Policy Measures for Establishing a World-renowned Innovation City with Global Influence (Ning Wei Fa [2018] No. 1) issued by the Nanjing’s Branch of the CPC and the Nanjing Municipal People’s Government, the Nanjing municipal administration offers rewards to Nanjing-based scientists for transferring, licensing, or outsourcing technology results (including patents), thus generating income and contributing to local economic development.

Target:

Individual scientists/researchers employed in Nanjing-based academic institutions and not-for-profit research organisations, who have generated over 500,000 RMB of income from transferring, licensing, or outsourcing technology results (including patents).

What are the benefits?

A reward will be granted to the eligible scientists, according to a certain proportion of the revenue generated.

Method of application:

Applications for rewards are collected by the scientist’s host institution, and submitted to the Nanjing Municipal S&T Commission every year in April.

Useful links:

Implementation Measures for Technology Transfer Economic Contribution Rewards (Trial)

The Suzhou S&T Development Plan – Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent Programme, is a dedicated programme launched by the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau to support high-level innovation and entrepreneurship talents and teams to relocate to Suzhou for their activities. The programme targets different categories of talents/teams:

• Major innovation teams: supporting teams which have already achieved major results or technologies in their field, and with strong capabilities for innovation and commercialisation;
• Entrepreneurship leading talent (teams): supporting entrepreneurs with strong technology, business, and networking resources to start their business in Suzhou, especially in areas contributing significantly to Suzhou’s socio-economic development;
• Innovation leading talents: supporting high-level talents to conduct innovation activities within Suzhou-based (i) enterprises; or (ii) academic institutions/research structures;

Financial support is granted to both the talent/team and the recruiting institution. Living and housing support may also be granted in case of entrepreneurs or talents working in enterprises.

Particular priority is granted to talents/teams recruited in the areas of: strategic and emerging industries (nanotechnologies, high-end machinery, intelligent manufacturing, new materials, new energy, green technologies, biology and medical devices, ICT); technology services; and modern agriculture.

Target, eligibility requirements, and benefits:

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis on the web portal of the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau – usually together with the calls of all the other programmes under the Suzhou S&T Development Plan (usually in the first batch in March). Applications can be submitted into two different batches: the first within 2-3 weeks from the date of publishing of the call; the second in the second half of the year.

Method of application:

Applications are submitted online through the Suzhou S&T Programme Management Platform. Hard copy versions must also be printed and submitted. After a pre-review and screening from relevant district or subcity-level S&T bureaus, eligible applications will be submitted to the Municipal S&T Bureau.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Foreign talents and teams (including non-ethnic Chinese) are eligible for the programme. Analysis of the list of ‘entrepreneurship talents’ recruited in 2017 and 2018 (links below), shows that around 15% of entrepreneurs recruited every year are foreigners (the vast majority from the United States, followed by Canada and Japan). ‘Major innovation teams’ tend to be predominantly Chinese (only a core team member of one selected team in 2018 was foreigner), while results for the ‘innovation leading talents’ are not available online.

Useful links:

2018 call for application

2018 list of winners – Entrepreneurship leading talents (1^st batch)

2018 list of winners – Major innovation teams

2017 call for application

2017 list of winners – Entrepreneurship leading talents (2^nd batch)

2017 list of winners – Entrepreneurship leading talents (1^st batch)

2017 list of winners – Major innovation teams

The Suzhou Overseas Intelligence Soft Recruitment – “Seagull Plan” is a programme specifically designed to recruit foreign talents to come to Suzhou-based entities for short-term cooperation projects, including consulting, trainings, etc., without affecting the foreign talent’s relationship with his/her current employer. Cooperation projects in key strategic sectors are encouraged.

Target:

Foreign experts (including from Hong Kong and Macao SAR, Taiwan) employed abroad.

Eligibility requirements:

The eligibility requirements that the applicant entity must meet are:

• Chinese domestic enterprise, or Sino-foreign JV with Chinese majority;
• The talent should work at least 15 working days in Suzhou, and generally not for more than 3 years.

In case of one or more of the following conditions, foreign talents are not eligible:

• Talents already based in Suzhou;
• Talents who have already received funding under other Suzhou talent attraction programmes.

What are the benefits?

A subsidy amount to a certain percentage of the talent’s salary will be granted to the hiring entity:

• Salary 50,000 – 100,000 RMB: 20% subsidised
• Salary 100,000 – 200,000 RMB: 25% subsidised
• Salary > 200,000: 30% subsidised

The maximum amount of subsidies that can be received by one single enterprise for each recruited talent is 500,000 RMB.

30,000 to 50,000 RMB of allowance can be granted to each individual talent based on an evaluation of their performance throughout the project duration.

When and where are calls published?

Calls are published on an annual basis, usually in August/September.

Method of application:

Applications must be submitted online by the hiring entity, through the Suzhou Gusu Talent Programme Network (an account must be created). Hard copy versions must also be submitted to the district or subcity S&T departments where the applicant is located.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Foreign experts can only be hired by Chinese domestic entities or Sino-foreign JVs with Chinese majority.

Useful links:

Implementing Rules of the Suzhou Overseas Intelligence Soft Recruitment – “Seagull Plan”

2018 call for applications

2017 call for applications

On the basis of National Key R&D Programmes, the Jiangsu Provincial S&T Department has launched three Provincial-level Key R&D Programmes, supporting R&D in the areas of:

• Modern agriculture: supporting the application of high-tech technologies such as biotechnologies, ICT, and green manufacturing technologies, into agriculture.
• Social development: supporting key technology development, integration, and demonstration in areas affecting people’s livelihood (e.g. agricultural pollution, water pollution, public security, ecological protection, etc), in clinical studies, and in the pharmaceutical or medical equipment sector.
• Key industry prospective technologies: supporting the R&D, standards-formulation and cross-disciplinary integration of key emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, smart robotics, future network systems, etc., especially in Jiangsu province’s traditionally competitive sectors such as information technologies, new materials, and advanced manufacturing.

The three programmes follow the development priorities and objectives outlined in the Jiangsu Provincial 13^th Five-year Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation.

Eligibility requirements:

Eligibility requirements vary according to the specific programme, but generally include:

• Enterprise, university, or research structure with independent legal personality within Jiangsu province;
• Proposed project should be in line with the topics specified in individual annual calls every year;
• The applicant should possess very strong capacities and conditions for innovation, should possess the IPR of the key technology/product on which the proposed project focuses;
• By the end of the project, new innovation patents are expected to be filed or obtained; new prototypes, sample products or systems should have been developed in case of projects in the areas of information technologies; test batches should have been completed for projects in the areas of new materials, energy and resources;
• Applicants should provide additional funds, according to a certain ration with the central government funding requested (ranging from 1:1 to 2:1);
• Proposals involving certain resources (e.g. genetic resources, animal experiments, clinical trials, etc) should abide by relevant national laws and regulations;
• Certain topics particularly encourage applications from industry alliances/associations;
• Limits on the total number of provincial- or national-level programmes that can be implemented at the same time.

What are the benefits?

Funding granted by the provincial government budget, usually ranging from 1 to 3 million RMB.

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis (usually in January), on the web portal of the Jiangsu Provincial Development and Reform Commission. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 6 weeks from the date of publication of the call.

Method of application:

Applicants must receive official endorsement from the municipal-level S&T bureaus or high-tech zones where they are officially registered (there are limits on the maximum number of applications that can be endorsed by each jurisdiction every year). Online applications are submitted through the Jiangsu S&T Project Management Platform (an official account should be created on the system in order to submit applications). Hard copy versions of the application materials should also be submitted to specific offices indicated in the application guidelines. Industry-university-research projects should also register on the relevant service platform.

International participation: opportunities and figures

According to the lists of winners for 2018 and 2017 annual calls, the ‘modern agriculture’ and ‘social development’ categories of programmes seem not to be particularly open to international actors: no evidence was in fact identified in either case (100-130 projects and around 200 projects are funded every year respectively under the ‘modern agriculture’ and ‘social development’ categories). Similar findings were registered also in the ‘key industry prospective technologies’ category, although two cases of projects assigned to Sino-Foreign JVs were identified (Mitec Communications Equipment (Suzhou) Co.,Ltd. – a Sino-Canadian JV; and Jiangsu Allray Inc. – a Sino-US JV founded by Chinese returnees).

Useful links:

2018 call for application (modern agriculture programme)

2018 list of winners (modern agriculture programme)

2018 call for application (social development programme)

2018 list of winners (social development programme)

2018 call for application (key industry prospective technologies programme)

2018 list of winners (key industry prospective technologies programme)

2017 call for application (modern agriculture programme)

2017 list of winners (modern agriculture programme)

2017 call for application (social development programme)

2017 list of winners (social development programme)

2017 call for application (key industry prospective technologies programme)

2017 list of winners (key industry prospective technologies programme)

The Jiangsu Agricultural S&T Innovation Fund is a programme supporting indigenous innovation in the agricultural sector, targeting R&D, application and demonstration of technologies, products, and equipment. The Fund was established by the provincial government in order to promote the supply-side reforms and the modernisation of the agricultural sector in Jiangsu province. Several research topics are funded every year, in line with the province’s “Major S&T Needs for the Agricultural Sector during the Second Half of the 13^th Five-year Plan Period”.

Target:

Enterprises; universities; research structures.

Eligibility requirements:

The consortium leader should meet the following requirements:

• Registered within Jiangsu province;
• Enterprise with solid innovation capacities in the agricultural sector; or academic institution engaged in scientific research in the agricultural sector. Non-Jiangsu entities or teams with very strong technical advantages are encouraged to join as consortium partners;
• Several research topics particularly encourage enterprises to apply as consortium leaders. Additional funds are expected to be provided by the consortium, generally at least more than 30% of those provided by the provincial government;
• Applications cannot be submitted in case similar research topics have already received funding from other Jiangsu provincial-level programmes (otherwise the applicant will be banned from the Fund for a certain period).

The team leader should meet the following requirements:

• Employed full-time by the consortium leader, in a senior position;
• Below 60 years of age;
• If the consortium leader is an enterprise, then the team leader should be one of the main manager of the enterprise, or a senior R&D manager;
• Universities and research structures are encouraged to recruit high-level talents, including outstanding young talents;
• Those who have failed applications to the Fund for two consecutive years, cannot be proposed as team leaders;
• Projects generally last 3 years.

What are the benefits?

Funding allocated for each project: 5 to 8 million RMB; 1 to 2 million RMB; or 300,000 to 800,000 RMB (depending on the research topic, as specified in annual calls)

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis (usually in March), on the official website of the Jiangsu Agricultural S&T Innovation Fund. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 2-3 weeks from the date of publication of the call.

Method of application:

Online applications are submitted through the website of the Jiangsu Agricultural S&T Innovation Fund (an official account should be created on the system in order to submit applications). Hard copy versions of the application materials should also be submitted to specific offices indicated in the application guidelines. Evaluations are divided into two rounds: the first focusing on the overall objectives and content of the proposal; the second focusing on the specific methodology and strategy of implementation, team composition, and budget.

International participation: opportunities and figures

According to the results of 2017 and 2018 calls, only one project was assigned to an international entity: AgroWebLab, a Taizhou-based joint venture among Israel BF (45%), Anhui Longcom Group (35%), and Taizhou Dadi Agriculture Development Investment Co., Ltd. (20%).

Useful links:

Management Rules for the Jiangsu Agricultural S&T Innovation Fund (Trial)

2018 call for application

2018 list of winners

2017 call for application

2017 list of winners

The Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau has established an ad hoc fund for supporting S&T development in Wuxi – the Wuxi S&T Development Fund. The Fund targets different actors, areas, and activities, and offers diversified forms of support.

Structure:

Specifically, the following programmes are supported by the Fund:

• Establishment of innovation alliances in the field of agriculture;
• Forward-looking key technologies (biomedicine);
• Forward-looking key technologies (agriculture);
• Forward-looking key technologies (industrial technologies);
• Technology SME Innovation Grants;
• International R&D Cooperation;
• Subsidies for S&T insurance;
• IP Demonstration Enterprise;
• Establishment and operation of IPR trading agencies;
• Innovation capacity-building platforms;
• R&D Subsidies for R&D Organisations;
• Tech Commercialisation Loan Interest Subsidies;
• IP Pledge Loan Interest Subsidies;
• Social development;
• Industry-university-research technology transfer.

Individual factsheets are provided below for the programmes highlighted in bold.

Who can participate? What are the eligibility requirements?

The eligibility requirements vary according to the specific programme, but in general applicants are expected to:

• Be registered in one of Wuxi’s districts (therefore excluding Jiangyin and Yixing municipalities);
• Have solid operational, management and financial mechanisms, as well as strong technology and research conditions and capabilities;
• Possess indigenous IPR;
• Not have any other ongoing similar projects which have received financial support from the provincial or municipal administration;
• Not have any ongoing disputes, or negative records.

What are the benefits?

Subsidies, grants, compensations, etc., depending on the specific programme.

When and where are calls published?

Calls for application are published on an annual basis, usually in the first months, on the web portal of the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau, as an annex of the Wuxi S&T Development Fund call. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 4-5 weeks from the date of publication.

Method for application:

Pre-applications must be submitted online through the Wuxi Modern Industrial Development Funding Administrative Service Platform. An official account must be created. Applications must be reviewed and pre-approved by the district level S&T and finance authorities – only after which the applicant can submit its official application (in hard copy version) to the Municipal S&T Bureau.

International participation: opportunities and figures

In addition to the programme specifically dedicated to international cooperation (‘International R&D Cooperation’, see below), international participation within the Wuxi S&T Development Fund appears very low, and generally limited to few programmes. Reasons are unclear, but there are no indicators suggesting that international participants are not encouraged to apply.

Useful links:

2018 call for applications

2018 list of winners

2017 list of winners

Similarly to the National Engineering Research Technology Centres under the Bases and Talents Programme, the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centre is a status given to certain Jiangsu-based entities with strong conditions and capacities for innovation, dedicated to market- and industry-oriented engineering R&D, verification, application and integration of core technologies in key areas. Being recognised as Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centre guarantees financial support from the Jiangsu Provincial Development and Reform Commission for the establishment of the facility and purchase of equipment, together with particular support when applying to other provincial- or national-level funding programmes.

Target:

High- and New-Technology Enterprises; universities; and research structures. Joint applications from enterprises and universities are encouraged.

Eligibility requirements:

• In line with provincial priorities and needs for socio-economic development;
• Possession of solid basis for applied research and development in the corresponding field;
• Strong records of technology transfer, and possession of major technology results with good prospects for commercialisation in one or multiple industries;
• Possession of innovation and industry-university-research cooperation mechanisms;
• Possession of at least part of the equipment and infrastructure needed for the commercialisation and engineering of the technology result; and availability to provide additional support to the research facility during its establishment period or operational phase;
• Possession of a solid technology and management team and leadership. The facility’s director should hold a senior engineer professional title;
• Previous experience in establishing national- or provincial-level platforms or projects, or in formulating standards;
• Limits on the number of applicants that can be recommended every time by district- or municipal-level administrations.

What are the benefits?

Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centre will receive financial support from the Jiangsu Provincial Development and Reform Commission for the establishment of the facility, and for the purchase of the equipment and devices needed for their designed activities. Selected facilities are also expected to receive strong support from local authorities when applying to other provincial- or national-level funding programmes, such as NKPs or Megaprojects.

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis (in the first half of the year), on the web portal of the Jiangsu Provincial Development and Reform Commission. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 6-8 weeks from the date of publication of the call.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Nearly the totality of the 157 approved Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centres in 2018 belonged to Chinese domestic universities, enterprises, or research structures. There were only two exceptions: and Zhang Jiang Automation (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd, wholly owned by the Taiwanese Pai-Ying group; and Everbright Environmental Protection Technology Equipment (Changzhou) Co., Ltd – owned by the Hong Kong-based Everbright International. Despite such low figures, European multinational companies are believed to be well-positioned and therefore strongly encouraged to apply to this programme.

Useful links:

Management Measures of Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centres

2018 call for application

2018 list of winners

The Jiangsu Provincial Basic Research Programme (Natural Science Fund) was established nearly two decades ago by the provincial government to support original innovative research in the field of natural sciences, and to contribute to talent growth in Jiangsu province – particularly young talents. Two categories of programmes are funded every year by the Fund:

1. Young Talent programme: further divided into:
   • Distinguished Young Scholar projects: designed to support young scholars that have the potential to be selected, in the short-term, as National Distinguished Young Scholars (i.e. a particular category of the National Natural Science Fund).
   • Excellent Young Scholar projects: designed to support talented young scholars who have successfully completed projects under the Young Scientist Fund (see below), in order to allow them to continue their research to achieve additional results.
   • Young Scientist Fund: encouraging young scientists to conduct exploratory research.
2. General programme: with no limits in terms of specific research topic or field

Eligibility requirements:

1. Young Talent programme:
   • Distinguished Young Scholar projects: employed full-time in a research institute, university or enterprise registered in Jiangsu province; Ph.D. degree or senior technologist job title; age below 40 years; previous experience in implementing national- or provincial-level STI programmes (excluding some categories of the National Natural Science Fund);
   • Excellent Young Scholar projects: have successfully concluded and delivered in the previous year one project under the Young Scientist Fund (see below);
   • Young Scientist Fund: employed full-time in a research institute, university or enterprise registered in Jiangsu province; Ph.D. degree or senior technologist job title; age below 35-38 years; no previous experience in implementing national- or provincial-level STI programmes.
2. General programme: employed full-time in a research institute, university or enterprise registered in Jiangsu province

There are limits in terms of number of candidates that can be recommended by each university, research structure, or enterprise (specific numbers are indicated in annual calls).

What are the benefits?

1. Young Talent programme:
   • Distinguished Young Scholar projects: up to 1 million RMB;
   • Excellent Young Scholar projects: up to 500,000 RMB;
   • Young Scientist Fund: up to 200,000 RMB.
2. General programme: up to 100,000 RMB.

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis (usually in January), on the Jiangsu S&T Project Management Platform. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 6 weeks from the date of publication of the call.

Method of application:

Online applications are submitted through the Jiangsu S&T Project Management Platform (an official account should be created on the system in order to submit applications). Hard copy versions of the application materials should also be submitted to specific offices indicated in the application guidelines.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Jiangsu-based affiliates of foreign universities, research structures and enterprises are eligible to apply. For instance, 3 projects under the Young Scientist Fund in 2018 were assigned to the Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. The same university in the same year was also assigned three projects under the General Programme.

Useful links:

Management Measures of the Jiangsu Provincial Basic Research Programme (Natural Science Fund) (Trial)

2018 call for applications

2018 list of winners

2017 call for applications

2017 list of winners

Similarly to the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centres, or the National Engineering Research Technology Centres under the Bases and Talents Programme, the Nanjing Municipal Engineering Research Centre is a status given to certain Nanjing-based enterprises, academic institutions or research structures with strong conditions and capacities for innovation, dedicated to market- and industry-oriented engineering R&D, verification, application and integration of core technologies in key areas. Being recognised as Nanjing Municipal Enterprise Engineering Research Centre guarantees particular support when applying to other provincial- or national-level funding programmes.

Target:

Enterprises; Academic institutions; Research structures.

Eligibility requirements:

The candidate facility must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Possess advanced R&D and technology levels in its field, and capacities for implementing large Megaprojects. Possession of indigenous IPR and high-tech results, patents.
• If the applicant is an enterprise, then it must be a High- and New-Technology Enterprise (at least at the municipal level), with annual sales revenue from high-tech products exceeding 50 million RMB;
• If the applicant is an academic institution or a research structure, then the total value of technology transfer contracts signed in the last 5 years should exceed 10 million RMB;
• The facility’s director should possess a high-level of technology, together with strong organisational and leadership skills;
• Solid financial capacities, with additional funds available;
• Previous experience in conducting engineering-scale transfer and conversion of major scientific results;
• Other requirements may be included in individual annual calls (e.g. relating to extension/value of R&D space/facilities; number of R&D personnel employed, etc);
• Enterprise candidates are, in principle, required to have already been included in the “Nanjing Municipal Engineering Research Centre Cultivation List”.

What are the benefits?

Nanjing Municipal Engineering Research Centres will receive financial support from the local administration upon their establishment. Other rewards will also be granted based on the results and outcomes of their operations, especially in terms of technology transfer and commercialisation. Facilities that score “outstanding” in the biennial performance assessment review, will receive additional rewards as well as endorsement to apply to the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centre. Finally, Nanjing Municipal Engineering Research Centres will also receive support from the local administration when applying to other municipal- or provincial-level funding programmes.

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis on the web portal of the Nanjing Municipal S&T Commission. The deadline for submitting applications is usually within 2-4 weeks after the publishing date.

Method of application:

Applicants must first receive endorsement from the district- or S&T park-level S&T bureaus where they are registered. Applications must then be submitted to specific offices indicated in annual calls.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Unlike the Suzhou Municipal Enterprise Engineering Research Centre, where large evidence of wholly-foreign owned enterprises (especially German) was identified among the lists of beneficiaries, very few FIEs were recognised as Nanjing Municipal Engineering Research Centres in 2017 and 2018. Only 5 out of over 250 cases were FIEs: none of them was however European (e.g. TLC (Nanjing) Pharmaceutical Standards Ltd. from Canada; Summit Plastics (Nanjing) Co., Ltd. from the United States; Radiant Opto-Electronics Nanjing Co. Ltd from Taiwan; etc.). This makes the programme very similar to the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centres.

Useful links:

Management Measures for Nanjing Municipal Engineering Research Centres

Nanjing Municipal Engineering Research Centre Cultivation List

2018 call for application

2018 list of winners

2017 call for application

2017 list of winners

In line with the Several Policy Measures for Establishing a World-renowned Innovation City with Global Influence (Ning Wei Fa [2018] No. 1) (Art. 2 and Art. 5) issued by the Nanjing’s Branch of the CPC and the Nanjing Municipal People’s Government in January 2018, the Nanjing municipal administration offers rewards to domestic and foreign R&D enterprises and to renowned multinational corporations that relocate to or establish an R&D structure in Nanjing. Rewards to local enterprises which establish overseas R&D structures will also be offered.

Target:

Enterprises; R&D structures.

Eligibility requirements:

R&D structures established in Nanjing must meet the following requirements:

• Dedicated to clear R&D topics and objectives;
• R&D structure with independent legal personality, with total annual R&D spending accounting to at least 40% of the annual income; alternatively, in case of R&D structures without independent legal personality (e.g. in case of R&D departments within enterprises), the R&D spending should account to at least 6% of the sales revenue.
• Total annual R&D spending exceeding 2 million USD;
• Possession of high-level R&D human resources. Foreign-invested R&D structures require long-term foreign experts to be involved in R&D. Total R&D personnel should account to over 50% of the total (for R&D structures with independent legal personality), or to at least 10% of the enterprise’s total workforce (for R&D structures without independent legal personality).
• Possession of solid R&D space and advanced R&D facilities.

Local enterprises establishing overseas R&D structures must meet the following requirements:

• Officially concluded registration or M&A procedure;
• Possession of solid R&D space and advanced R&D facilities;
• Clear R&D topics and directions; provision of necessary investment in terms of R&D spending and personnel;
• Good operational mechanisms allowing the achievement of R&D results.

What are the benefits?

Up to 30 million RMB of financial support to newly-established R&D structures in Nanjing (depending on the specific investment amount and scale).

Up to 5 million RMB of financial support to newly-established overseas R&D structures.

When and where are calls published?

Calls are published on an annual basis on the website of the Nanjing Municipal S&T Commission. The deadline for submitting applications is usually within 4 weeks from the publishing date.

Method of application:

Applications for rewards are submitted to the district-level departments where the applicant is registered, before being forwarded to the municipal level. Detailed instructions, including application materials to fill, are specified in annual calls.

Useful links:

Implementing Rules of the Nanjing Rewards for newly-established R&D structures (Trial)

2018 call for application

In line with the Several Policy Measures for Establishing a World-renowned Innovation City with Global Influence (Ning Wei Fa [2018] No. 1) issued by the Nanjing’s Branch of the CPC and the Nanjing Municipal People’s Government, the Nanjing municipal administration offers rewards for technology transfer deals conducted and implemented in Nanjing.

Target:

Academic institutions; Technology transfer agencies

Eligibility requirements:

• Nanjing-based academic institutions
• Nanjing-based technology transfer agency recognised as such by relevant departments, and with independent legal personality (established more than 1 year before the application is submitted)
• In order to qualify, tech transfer contracts must be implemented within Nanjing municipality, and must be certified by relevant authorities.

What are the benefits?

A reward of up to 2% of the actual value of the technology contract signed will be granted to the technology transfer agency, for a maximum of 500,000 RMB per year per agency.

Method of application:

Requests for rewards can be submitted after relevant announcements are published on the website of the Nanjing Municipal S&T Commission. Requests for rewards can be submitted for qualifying technology transfer projects concluded in the previous year.

Useful links:

Implementing Rules for the Nanjing Technology Trading Rewards (Trial)

2018 announcement for application

The Suzhou S&T Development Plan – S&T Infrastructure Programme, is a dedicated programme launched by the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau to support the establishment and the operations of new or already existing research structures and laboratories within Suzhou-based enterprises. The programme is divided into three chapters:

• Establishment of key laboratories in leading enterprises or academic institutions, especially in the area of ICT, artificial intelligence, nanotechnologies, semiconductors, and advanced materials;
• Performance awards of enterprise research structures, granting certain rewards to good performing enterprise research structures already established in the area of ICT, new energy, healthcare, and society;
• Establishment of new types of research structures, granting financial support for the establishment of new research structures.

Target:

Enterprises; academic institutions (only for the first and third chapters)

Eligibility requirements:

The eligibility requirements for the ‘establishment of key laboratories’ chapter are:

• Annual sales revenue of the enterprise’s main product above 50 million RMB, at least 3% of which should be dedicated to R&D spending (only for enterprises)
• Possession of at least 20 highly-skilled innovation personnel. Possession of at least one innovation patent in core technologies in the field for which the application is submitted;
• The investment of the project for which the application is submitted should exceed 3 million RMB (or 5 million RMB for academic institutions);
• Possession of independent R&D facilities (at least 1,000 sqm of extension) and R&D equipment (which should be registered on the Suzhou Municipal R&D Resource Sharing Service Platform).
• Particular priority is granted to key leading enterprises, formulators of national GB standards, etc. Enterprises which have already established a research institute cannot apply to this programme.

The eligibility requirements for the ‘performance awards of enterprise research structures’ chapter are:

• Already established enterprise research structure, including: key laboratory; municipal enterprise engineering research centre; enterprise research institute; academician work station; S&T public service platform.
• Should have passed the performance evaluation assessment.

The eligibility requirements for the ‘establishment of new types of research structures’ chapter are:

• Independent legal personality in Suzhou;
• The applicant’s R&D spending in the previous year should account to at least 15% of its revenue;
• At least 30% of the hired personnel should hold a Master’s Degree or Ph.D. Degree, or senior technology position;
• The applicant’s revenue from R&D services offered to the society should account to at least 50% of the total;
• The value of the applicant’s R&D facilities and equipment should exceed 10 million RMB.
• If the applicant has obtained independent legal personality in Suzhou after 14 September 2016, then it is required to have a registered capital of at least 10 million RMB. At the end of the 3-year construction period, then all the above requirements will also apply.

What are the benefits?

• Key laboratories: 300,000 RMB, plus particular priority and support in applying to other municipal, provincial, or national funding programmes;
• Performance awards of enterprise research structures: up to 500,000 RMB;
• Establishment of new types of research structures: performance awards for already established facilities; or up to 10 million RMB of funding for newly-established facilities.

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis on the web portal of the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau. Applications for the ‘key laboratories’ and ‘performance awards of enterprise research structures’ are usually published together with the calls of all the other programmes under the Suzhou S&T Development Plan (usually in the first batch in March) – with deadline for submitting online and hard copy applications usually being within 2 or 3 weeks.

Applications for the ‘establishment of new types of research structures’ chapter are also published on the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau, usually during the summer. The deadline for submitting applications is usually 4-5 weeks from the publishing date.

Method of application:

Applicants must first receive endorsement from the district- or subcity-level S&T bureaus where they are registered. Applications are then submitted online through the Suzhou S&T Programme Management Platform.

International participation: opportunities and figures

According to the list of approved projects in 2017 and 2018, the ‘performance awards of enterprise research structures’ chapter is the only one where international participation was identified – although still in limited percentages. There was only one case of an European WFOE (the German Kathrein Automotive Products (Suzhou) Co., Ltd.). This chapter is still believed to be very attractive for European actors, especially those that have been recognised as Municipal Enterprise Engineering Research Centres (i.e. one type of ‘enterprise research structure’).

Useful links:

Implementing Rules for Supporting the Establishment of R&D Structures in Suzhou (Trial)

2018 call for application (‘key laboratory’ and ‘performance awards of enterprise research structures’ chapters)

2018 list of winners (‘key laboratory’ and ‘performance awards of enterprise research structures’ chapters)

2017 call for application (‘key laboratory’ and ‘performance awards of enterprise research structures’ chapters)

2017 list of winners (‘performance awards of enterprise research structures’ chapter)

2018 call for application (‘establishment of new types of research structures’ chapter)

2018 list of winners (‘establishment of new types of research structures’ chapter)

The Suzhou S&T Development Plan – S&T Policy-guided Funding, is a dedicated programme launched by the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau to grant additional funding and support to Suzhou-based enterprises and research organisations which are currently implementing national or provincial level megaprojects or key R&D programmes – in line with key local policy documents.

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis on the web portal of the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau – usually together with the calls of all the other programmes under the Suzhou S&T Development Plan (usually in the first batch in March). The deadline for submitting applications is usually 4-5 weeks from the publishing date.

Method of application:

Applications are submitted online through the Suzhou S&T Programme Management Platform. Hard copy versions must also be printed and submitted. After a pre-review and screening from relevant district or subcity-level S&T bureaus, eligible applications will be submitted to the Municipal S&T Bureau.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Because of the low success rate of international entities in applying to the above statues (especially at those at the national level under the Bases and Talents Programme), and thus of the impossibility to meet the eligibility requirements, very low evidence of international participation was identified under this programme. If, however, the above eligibility requirements can be met, then the programme is equally open to international entities – as it was the case for two wholly foreign-owned enterprises in 2017 and 2018: the Italian Faist Precision Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., and the German Ruhlamat Automation Technologies (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., both of which as Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Centres.

Useful links:

Implementing Rules for Supporting the Establishment of R&D Structures in Suzhou (Trial)

2018 call for application

2018 list of results

2017 list of results

The Suzhou S&T Development Plan – Soft Science Research Programme, is a dedicated programme launched by the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau to reward research in areas of soft sciences. Every year, research subsidies are assigned to research reports formulated by academic research institutions based in Suzhou’s district area, and which have particular value for decision-makers. The specific research topics and subjects vary every year (they are specified in annual calls).

Target:

Academic research institutions based in Suzhou’s district area.

Eligibility requirements:

Research subsidies are granted only after the formulation of a research report at the end of the project itself (i.e. post-financing). Candidates and their projects must meet the following criteria:

• Academic research institution with independent legal personality in one of the five districts in Suzhou (thus not including the four county-level cities, i.e. Changshu, Kunshan, Zhangjiagang, and Taicang);
• Joint research projects with other institutions, enterprises or organisations are encouraged;
• Each academic research institution is assigned a specific quota of applications that can be submitted every year, corresponding to 1.5 times the number of projects it was assigned the previous year under the Soft Science Research Programme (if no projects were assigned, then only 2 applications can be submitted);
• The applicant PI should not have any other ongoing projects under the Soft Science Research Programme;
• Research topics and subjects which have already received funding at the national or provincial level, are not eligible.

What are the benefits?

30,000 to 50,000 RMB of subsidy per project, depending on the type of project.

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis on the web portal of the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau – usually together with the calls of all the other programmes under the Suzhou S&T Development Plan (either in the first batch in March, or in the second batch in May). The deadline for submitting applications is usually within 4-5 weeks after the publishing date. Applications are evaluated through peer review in September every year.

Method of application:

Applications are submitted online through the Suzhou S&T Programme Management Platform. No need to submit hard copy versions.

International participation: opportunities and figures

The fact that only academic research institutions based in Suzhou’s five districts are eligible significantly limits the scope of international participation within the Soft Science Research Programme. Analysis of results in 2018 shows that the Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University received research subsidies for two projects, both led by foreign PIs. No cases were identified in 2017.

Useful links:

2018 call for application

2018 list of results

2017 call for application

2017 list of results

The Suzhou S&T Development Plan – Subsidy Programme for Medical Devices and New Drugs, is a dedicated programme launched by the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau to support local enterprises and organisations to conduct indigenous innovation on and to accelerate the commercialisation of new high-end medical devices and drugs, conducted over a 1-year period preceding the application. Specifically, the programme grants subsidies to entities which have achieved important R&D results in the area of chemicals, biological drugs, natural drugs, Chinese medicine drugs, and high-end medical devices. The programme’s objective is to shape a new source of economic growth for Suzhou municipality.

Target and amount of subsidies:

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis on the web portal of the Suzhou Municipal S&T Bureau – usually together with the calls of all the other programmes under the Suzhou S&T Development Plan (usually in the first batch in March). The deadline for submitting applications is usually 4-5 weeks from the publishing date.

Method of application:

Applications are submitted online through the Suzhou S&T Programme Management Platform. Hard copy versions must also be printed and submitted. After a pre-review and screening from relevant district or subcity-level S&T bureaus, eligible applications will be submitted to the Municipal S&T Bureau.

International participation: opportunities and figures

International participation under the programme is relatively low. Four WFOEs received subsidies in 2017 (including Philips Healthcare (Suzhou) Co., Ltd, and the German Maquet Medical Equipment (Suzhou) Co., Ltd, plus two other Japanese WFOEs), while only one of the 47 beneficiaries in 2018 was a WFOE (the American Meixi Medical Devices (Kunshan) Co., Ltd).

Useful links:

2018 call for application

2018 list of winners

2017 call for application

2017 list of winners

The Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau has established an ad hoc fund for supporting S&T development in Wuxi – the Wuxi S&T Development Fund. The Fund targets different actors, areas, and activities, and offers diversified forms of support.

Structure:

Specifically, the following programmes are supported by the Fund:

• Establishment of innovation alliances in the field of agriculture;
• Forward-looking key technologies (biomedicine);
• Forward-looking key technologies (agriculture);
• Forward-looking key technologies (industrial technologies);
• Technology SME Innovation Grants;
• International R&D Cooperation;
• Subsidies for S&T insurance;
• IP Demonstration Enterprise;
• Establishment and operation of IPR trading agencies;
• Innovation capacity-building platforms;
• R&D Subsidies for R&D Organisations;
• Tech Commercialisation Loan Interest Subsidies;
• IP Pledge Loan Interest Subsidies;
• Social development;
• Industry-university-research technology transfer.

Individual factsheets are provided below for the programmes highlighted in bold.

Who can participate? What are the eligibility requirements?

The eligibility requirements vary according to the specific programme, but in general applicants are expected to:

• Be registered in one of Wuxi’s districts (therefore excluding Jiangyin and Yixing municipalities);
• Have solid operational, management and financial mechanisms, as well as strong technology and research conditions and capabilities;
• Possess indigenous IPR;
• Not have any other ongoing similar projects which have received financial support from the provincial or municipal administration;
• Not have any ongoing disputes, or negative records.

What are the benefits?

Subsidies, grants, compensations, etc., depending on the specific programme.

When and where are calls published?

Calls for application are published on an annual basis, usually in the first months, on the web portal of the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau, as an annex of the Wuxi S&T Development Fund call. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 4-5 weeks from the date of publication.

Method for application:

Pre-applications must be submitted online through the Wuxi Modern Industrial Development Funding Administrative Service Platform. An official account must be created. Applications must be reviewed and pre-approved by the district level S&T and finance authorities – only after which the applicant can submit its official application (in hard copy version) to the Municipal S&T Bureau.

International participation: opportunities and figures

In addition to the programme specifically dedicated to international cooperation (‘International R&D Cooperation’, see below), international participation within the Wuxi S&T Development Fund appears very low, and generally limited to few programmes. Reasons are unclear, but there are no indicators suggesting that international participants are not encouraged to apply.

Useful links:

2018 call for applications

2018 list of winners

2017 list of winners

As part of the Wuxi S&T Development Fund, the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau has established and hoc programme granting subsidies for R&D activities – especially involving development, transfer or incubation of key technologies – in areas in line with major local priorities. Foreign-invested research structures and multinational corporations are among the main targets of the programme.

Who can participate? What are the eligibility requirements?

• R&D organisation (domestic or foreign academic institutions, research structures, backbone enterprises, MNCs, scientists and teams) with independent legal personality in Wuxi (including S&T parks and development zones);
• The project for which subsidies are requested should have already been established;
• Solid R&D work force, at least 40% of total employees should have Master’s or Ph.D. degrees or senior job titles;
• For service firms: revenue from technology development, transfer or consulting services in the previous year above 2 million RMB, at least 60% of which should come from Wuxi-based clients.

What are the benefits?

Subsidies of up to 20% of the applicant’s R&D expenditure in the previous year (max 5 million RMB per project).

When and where are calls published?

Calls for application are published on an annual basis on the web portal of the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau, as an annex of the Wuxi S&T Development Fund call. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 4-5 weeks from the date of publication.

Method of application:

Pre-applications must be submitted online through the Wuxi Modern Industrial Development Funding Administrative Service Platform. An official account must be created. Applications must be reviewed and pre-approved by the district level S&T and finance authorities – only after which the applicant can submit its official application (in hard copy version) to the Municipal S&T Bureau.

International participation: opportunities and figures

No data is available online on approved projects in the last year. As the calls for application explicitly mention foreign-invested research structures and MNCs, it is expected that the degree of international participation is relatively high.

Useful links:

2018 call for applications (see Annex 1-12)

The Jiangsu Provincial S&T and Finance departments have established an ad hoc programme specifically encouraging Jiangsu-based entities to launch international cooperation activities with foreign partners. Three specific categories of projects are supported:

• Technology development cooperation projects with key countries: supporting joint development or technology transfer of Jiangsu-based enterprises with foreign partners in Israel, Finland, United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Germany, France, Australia, South Korea, Japan, and Russia.
• Technology cooperation projects with countries along the Belt and Road: supporting Jiangsu-based international joint research centres/labs (as recognised by MOST or other ministries) to launch win-win technology cooperation with foreign partners based along the countries officially participating in the Belt and Road initiative. * Enterprises can join as minor partners.
• International cooperation projects on technology services: supporting Jiangsu-based technology service agencies to establish joint technology transfer agencies or other S&T service agencies with foreign partners, or Jiangsu-based enterprises to establish overseas R&D centres (labs) through merger/acquisition or foreign direct investment.

* Central and Eastern Europe: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Greece, Cyprus; East Asia: Mongolia; ASEAN countries; Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan; West Asia: Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Turkey; South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka; Commonwealth of Independent States: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldova.

Who can participate? What are the eligibility requirements?

• The foreign partner must be a legal entity registered abroad. China-based affiliates of foreign-invested enterprises cannot apply as foreign partners;
• The two partners must already have solid basis for cooperation and exchange, and should have already signed a cooperation agreement which should clearly specific the division of tasks between the partners, and the intended utilization of IPR generated under the project;
• Other requirements depending on the category of project for which the application is submitted, as specified in each annual call (link to latest 2018 call below).

What are the benefits?

• Technology development cooperation projects with key countries: Up to 1 million RMB can be granted (up to maximum 50% of the total project’s budget)
• Technology cooperation projects with countries along the Belt and Road: Up to 1 million RMB can be granted (up to maximum 50% of the total project’s budget)
• International cooperation projects on technology services: Up to 700,000 RMB can be granted (up to maximum 50% of the total project’s budget).

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis (usually in January), on the Jiangsu S&T Project Management Platform. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 6 weeks from the date of publication of the call.

Method of application:

Applicants must receive official endorsement from the district-level or city-level S&T bureaus where they are officially registered (there are limits on the maximum number of applications that can be endorsed by each jurisdiction every year). Online applications are submitted through the Jiangsu S&T Project Management Platform (an official account should be created on the system in order to submit applications). Hard copy versions of the application materials should also be submitted to specific offices indicated in the application guidelines.

International participation: opportunities and figures

This programme is mainly directed to Chinese domestic entities to launch joint projects with foreign entities based abroad. China-based affiliates of foreign-invested entities therefore are not the main target of this programme, although two out of 52 approved projects in 2018 were assigned to foreign-invested entities in China: Saurer (Changzhou) Textile Machinery Co., Ltd, (Swiss WFOE); and WORLDDiscoveries Asia-Nanjing (an international tech transfer centre established by the Canadian WORLDDiscoveries).

Useful links:

2018 call for applications

2018 list of winners

2017 list of winners

Similarly to national-level S&T awards assigned every year by MOST, the Jiangsu provincial government every year assigns official awards to individual or entities that have achieved outstanding scientific or technology results in certain areas, and which have significantly contributed to the local socio-economic development and innovation ecosystem. The Jiangsu Provincial S&T Award is divided into different categories, one of which exclusively targeting Jiangsu-based international companies or international scientists – the International Cooperation Prize.

Target:

International scientists; international companies.

Functioning mechanism:

Every year, governments at the district, county, or municipal level (including high-tech zones) recommend a certain number of candidates to be assigned the international cooperation prize. Applications therefore are submitted by the endorsing bodies, and not by the candidates themselves.

Eligibility requirements:

The eligibility requirements for the International Cooperation Prize may vary according to the endorsing body, but generally require the international company/individual to have very strong and long (e.g. at least 2 years) cooperation background with the local government where they are based, in sectors which are deemed as priority for local socio-economic development. During this period, they should have generated through indigenous innovation major or core scientific results with global influence. Previous experience in implementing national- or provincial-level STI projects, or in introducing internationally-renowned teams, are also considered assets.

What are the benefits?

In addition to receiving a certain financial compensation, awardees will receive strong government endorsement and all-round support when applying to or implementing other provincial- or national-level projects.

When and where are calls published?

Recommendations are made on an annual basis, following official announcements released by the provincial government (usually in the second quarter of the year).

Useful links:

Notice on the Beginning of 2018 Recommendations for the Jiangsu Provincial S&T Award – International Cooperation Price

2017 list of winners

The Nanjing Municipal S&T Commission has established ad ac hoc programme encouraging Nanjing-based entities to launch S&T-related international cooperation activities with foreign partners. Two categories of projects are supported:

• International R&D cooperation on industrial technologies: Targeting joint R&D or key technology development projects with competitive foreign partners, especially in information technology, green and intelligent vehicles, high-end intelligent equipment, biomedical technologies, and green materials.
• International technology transfer rewards: Encouraging foreign universities, research structures or multinational companies to establish – independently or in cooperation with local partners – international technology transfer agencies in Nanjing.

Who can participate? What are the eligibility requirements?

Applicants to ‘international R&D cooperation on industrial technologies’ projects must meet the following requirements:

• Applications must be submitted by the Nanjing-based enterprise;
• The applicant and the foreign partner must already have solid basis for cooperation and exchange, and should have already signed a cooperation agreement which should clearly specific the division of tasks between the partners, and the intended utilization of IPR generated under the project;

Applicants to ‘international technology transfer rewards’ projects must meet the following requirements:

• Applications must be submitted by a registered international technology transfer agency based in Nanjing;
• The Nanjing-based partner should have a good operational structure, mechanisms, revenue, and channels.

Only one application to one of the two projects above can be submitted annually by one entity.

What are the benefits?

• ‘International R&D cooperation on industrial technologies’ projects: up to 1 million RMB/project.
• ‘International technology transfer rewards’ projects: up to 500,000 RMB of financial support.

When and where are calls published?

Applications are published on an annual basis on the web portal of the Nanjing Municipal S&T Commission. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 3-4 weeks from the date of publication.

Method of application:

Applications must be submitted online through the Nanjing S&T Project Management System. After a pre-evaluation round, hard copy versions must be submitted to the offices indicated in the annual call.

International participation: opportunities and figures

This programme is mainly directed to Chinese domestic entities to launch joint projects with foreign entities based abroad. China-based affiliates of foreign-invested entities therefore are not the main target of this programme.

Useful links:

2018 call for applications

The Nanjing Municipal “345” Overseas Talent Recruitment Programme, is a dedicated programme for the recruitment of high-level innovation and entrepreneurship returnees or foreign talents in Nanjing. The Programme offers substantial subsidies, rewards and administrative support to both the recruiting entity and the talent. The Programme targets three different types of recruitment:

• “3” – urgently needed foreign experts (referred to as “3 Plan”)
• “4” – overseas high-level innovation teams (referred to as “4 Plan”)
• “5” – overseas expert studio soft recruitment (referred to as “5 Plan”).

Target and eligibility requirements:

What are the benefits?

Different types of benefits are associated with the Programme:

• Financial support to recruiting entities, including:
• 600,000 RMB per year (maximum for 3 years) to support the talent’s remuneration;
• Performance awards;
• Up to 5 million RMB of project support;
• Other travel and accommodation subsidies for talents under the “5 Plan”.
• Particular endorsement to recruited talents in applying to national “1,000 Talents Plan”, the Jiangsu Provincial “Mass Innovation and Entrepreneurship” Plan (see corresponding factsheet above), as well as special recognitions and friendship awards from both the provincial and central government.
• Administrative, housing and living support to recruited talents, including 5-year residence permits, medical insurance, schooling for children, housing subsidies, Nanjing Citizen Card (A Card), etc.

When and where are calls published?

Calls are published on an annual basis, usually between March and May, on the website of the Nanjing Municipal People’s Government or on that of the Nanjing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau.

Method of application:

Applications must be submitted by the hiring entity to district level bureaus of human resources and social security. After a preliminary screening and evaluation, applications are then submitted to municipal-level authorities.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Foreign experts can only be hired by Chinese domestic entities or Sino-foreign JVs with Chinese majority.

Useful links:

Implementing Rules of the Nanjing Municipal “345” Overseas Talent Recruitment Programme (Trial)

2018 call for applications

The Suzhou Overseas Intelligence Soft Recruitment – “Seagull Plan” is a programme specifically designed to recruit foreign talents to come to Suzhou-based entities for short-term cooperation projects, including consulting, trainings, etc., without affecting the foreign talent’s relationship with his/her current employer. Cooperation projects in key strategic sectors are encouraged.

Target:

Foreign experts (including from Hong Kong and Macao SAR, Taiwan) employed abroad.

Eligibility requirements:

The eligibility requirements that the applicant entity must meet are:

• Chinese domestic enterprise, or Sino-foreign JV with Chinese majority;
• The talent should work at least 15 working days in Suzhou, and generally not for more than 3 years.

In case of one or more of the following conditions, foreign talents are not eligible:

• Talents already based in Suzhou;
• Talents who have already received funding under other Suzhou talent attraction programmes.

What are the benefits?

A subsidy amount to a certain percentage of the talent’s salary will be granted to the hiring entity:

• Salary 50,000 – 100,000 RMB: 20% subsidised
• Salary 100,000 – 200,000 RMB: 25% subsidised
• Salary > 200,000: 30% subsidised

The maximum amount of subsidies that can be received by one single enterprise for each recruited talent is 500,000 RMB.

30,000 to 50,000 RMB of allowance can be granted to each individual talent based on an evaluation of their performance throughout the project duration.

When and where are calls published?

Calls are published on an annual basis, usually in August/September.

Method of application:

Applications must be submitted online by the hiring entity, through the Suzhou Gusu Talent Programme Network (an account must be created). Hard copy versions must also be submitted to the district or subcity S&T departments where the applicant is located.

International participation: opportunities and figures

Foreign experts can only be hired by Chinese domestic entities or Sino-foreign JVs with Chinese majority.

Useful links:

Implementing Rules of the Suzhou Overseas Intelligence Soft Recruitment – “Seagull Plan”

2018 call for applications

2017 call for applications

As part of the Wuxi S&T Development Fund, the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau has established and hoc programme encouraging Wuxi-based entities to launch joint R&D or tech transfer cooperation with foreign academic institutions, science or engineering academies or academicians, or internationally-renowned foreign experts, in either developed countries or in those participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. Project proposals should be in line with the priority topics and areas specified in annual calls.

Who can participate? What are the eligibility requirements?

• Enterprise of scale with legal personality in Wuxi (not including Jiangyin and Yixing municipalities), or Wuxi-based research structures/institutes of higher education, with solid capacities and conditions for international scientific cooperation, and solid IPR management mechanisms;
• For enterprises: R&D expenditure in the previous year amounting to at least 2% of the sales revenue;
• The applicant and the foreign partner must already have solid basis for cooperation and exchange, and should have already signed a cooperation agreement which should clearly specific the division of tasks between the partners, and the intended utilization of IPR generated under the project.

What are the benefits?

Grants of up to 20% of the project’s expenses (max. 1 million RMB).

When and where are calls published?

Calls for application are published on an annual basis on the web portal of the Wuxi Municipal S&T Bureau, as an annex of the Wuxi S&T Development Fund call. The deadline for submitting applications is generally within 4-5 weeks from the date of publication.

Method of application:

Pre-applications must be submitted online through the Wuxi Modern Industrial Development Funding Administrative Service Platform. An official account must be created. Applications must be reviewed and pre-approved by the district level S&T and finance authorities – only after which the applicant can submit its official application (in hard copy version) to the Municipal S&T Bureau.

International participation: opportunities and figures

This programme is mainly directed to Chinese domestic entities to launch joint projects with foreign partners based abroad. China-based affiliates of foreign-invested entities therefore are not the main target of this programme.

Useful links

2018 call for applications (see Annex 1-5)