基地和人才专项

Most of these programmes are currently undergoing deep structural reforms, i.e. re-organisation, re-classification and merging of existing bases so as to remove frequent overlaps and similarity of functions and objectives among them. * This makes the fifth funding pillar currently relatively inactive, especially when compared to other national STI programmes. Moreover, not all the programmes under the fifth pillar are open to European actors.

 

* These were mainly introduced by the Plan for the Optimisation and Integration of National STI Bases published at the end of August 2017 by MOST, NDRC, and MOF. A detailed abstract of the Plan can be found at this link.

 

Similarly to the fourth national funding pillar (i.e. the Technology Innovation Guiding Fund), no pillar-wide regulations, management measures or websites have been created for the Bases and Talents Programme: each specific programme under the pillar has its own and independent management framework, benefits and application procedures; related information is not integrated on the National S&T Service Platform, and remains highly-fragmented and scattered among different websites and press releases.

University-Research State Key Laboratories SKLs are established within institutes of higher education and research structures for conducting pioneering and innovative research in areas of national priority, further supporting the country’s technological and economic development

A total of 254 University-Research SKLs had been established by the end of 2016. None is affiliated to foreign-invested universities or research structures. The full list of existing SKLs can be found on MOST’s Annual Report on SKLs at this link.

There is a wide variety of benefits associated with being recognised as University-Research SKLs, mainly divided as:

• Funding: University-Research SKLs receive funding and subsidies from the central government for costs incurred for (i) daily operations; (ii) research activities; and (iii) purchase or renewal of facilities and equipment. In the first two cases, the amount of funding is allocated by MOST and MOF according to a classification of labs based on fixed-term performance evaluations, annual reviews, no. of projects under implementation, and lab size; in the latter case, funding is granted according to a work plan submitted by the lab, generally every five years. More than 4 billion RMB were allocated by the central government in 2015.
• Preferential treatment: particular priority is granted to University-Research SKLs when applying to local and national STI projects and funds. For instance, in 2015 they were granted a total of 22,213 national-level STI projects (mainly from the Natural Sciences Foundation of China, NSFC), and 7,201 provincial-level STI projects, amounting to a total of 14.04 billion RMB (around 1.8 billion EUR) of government funds received.

Candidates for University-Research State Key Lab must meet the following requirements:

• Have been operating as Ministerial- or Provincial-level Key Lab for over two years, and engaged in basic or applied research;
• Have a research focus in line with those indicated in MOST’s application guidelines;
• Possess strong research capacities, and high-level research teams (with a rational team age and composition balance). The last call in 2010 also required applicants to possess the authority to grant PhD titles (this requirement however is absent from the management guidelines and therefore might have been limited to that particular call);
• Possess good infrastructures and conditions for conducting research, including a facility with at least 3,000 m² of extension, and equipment with a value exceeding 25 million RMB, which should be open to the public.

 

* Note: More information on the legal framework, benefits and selection procedures of University-Research State Key Laboratories can be found on the Guide for EU stakeholders published on this website, as well as: Measures for the Establishment and Operation of University-Research State Key Laboratories (link); and Measures for the Administration of Special Funding for University-Research State Key Laboratories (link).

Enterprise State Key Laboratories have started to be established following the publication of the Outline of the National Medium- and Long-term Programme on Science and Technology Development (2006-2020), as a parallel and complementary leg of the University-Research SKLs. Enterprise SKLs conduct applied basic research and research on pre-competition generic technologies in areas of major interest and needs for the country’s socio-economic development. They also significantly contribute to the formulation of international, national and industry standards.

A total of 177 Enterprise SKLs had been established by the end of 2016. Around half belongs to State-owned Enterprises (SoEs), thus are managed by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Committee; the remaining are managed by S&T departments of local governments. Nine labs (5% of the total) are affiliated with Sino-foreign joint ventures. The full list of existing Enterprise SKLs can be found on MOST’s Annual Report on Enterprise SKLs at this link.

Although Enterprise SKLs do not receive funding from the central government (unlike University-Research SKLs), they are still granted particular priority when applying to national and local STI projects and funds. For instance, in 2016 they were granted a total of 941 national-level STI projects (including 205 National Key R&D Programmes), and 1,041 provincial-level STI projects, corresponding to a total of 4.04 billion RMB of government funds received.

Candidates for Enterprise State Key Lab must meet the following requirements:

• Have been operating as Ministerial- or Provincial-level Key Lab for over two years, with well-regulated and efficient management procedures;
• Have been conducting, for at least five years, applied basic research and research on pre-competition generic technologies in line with the country’s policies and strategies;
• Possess strong research capacities and teams, with at least 50 full-time researchers, over one-third of which being scientists holding senior technology positions;
• Possess good infrastructures and conditions for conducting research (the last call published in 2014 required applicants to possess research facilities with at least 5,000 m² of extension, and equipment with a value exceeding 30 million RMB);
• Ensure, together with their main responsible bodies, enough funding for the establishment and operation of the Lab;
• Others (e.g. the 2009 call required applicants’ R&D expenditure to exceed a certain proportion of their sales revenue in the previous year, ranging from 3% to 6% according to the value of sales; in addition, at least 60% of the R&D activities should have been conducted in Mainland China. Such requirements were however absent from the 2014 call).

 

* Note: More information on the legal framework, benefits and selection procedures of Enterprise State Key Laboratories can be found on the Guide for EU stakeholders published on this website, as well as: Measures for the Management of Enterprise State Key Laboratories (link).

National-Local Joint Engineering Research Centres (Laboratories) are established jointly by NDRC and local governments within universities, research structures and enterprises administered at the local level, rather than at the central level. Their purpose is to enhance regional innovation capacities and to boost regional economic development and transformation, by conducting market- and industry-oriented engineering research, verification, application and integration of key generic technologies, and R&D of core technologies.

A total of 896 National-Local Joint Engineering Research Centres (Labs) had been established by December 2017. Over half of them (58%) are affiliated to enterprises (both State-owned and privately-held), while the remaining are affiliated to universities and research structures (32% and 10% respectively). Thirty-eight joint centres (5%) were affiliated to Sino-foreign joint ventures, and one was affiliated to the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen campus). The full list of approved facilities can be found at this link.

There is a wide variety of benefits associated with being recognised as National-Local Joint Engineering Research Centres (Laboratories), mainly divided as:

• Funding: NDRC provides funding according to the amount requested by the applicant during the application process. Funding is generally granted after the Centre (Lab) officially enters operations, and does not exceed a maximum of 200 million RMB, mainly provided through: capital investment subsidies; loan discounts; direct investment and/or capital injections.
• Preferential treatment: National-Local Joint Engineering Research Centres (Labs) and their teams are also supported by the government when applying to STI projects and funds at all levels.

According to the latest call published by NDRC (at this link), candidate joint centres/labs must meet the following requirements:

• Have been provincial-level engineering research centres/labs for at least one year, and have obtained clear funding and supporting plans from local governments;
• Focus on industries listed in the Guiding Catalogue of Key Products and Services in Strategic Emerging Industries (link);
• Possess a staff of at least 50 employees, at least 30 of which being full-time R&D personnel;
• Possess good infrastructure and conditions for conducting research, including an R&D facility with at least 2,000 m² of extension, and R&D equipment with a value over 30 million RMB;
• Possess previous experience in leading or implementing national projects or in formulating industry standards;
• Have established long-term cooperation with at least one National Engineering Research Centre (above), National Enterprise Technology Centre (after this section), or National Technology Innovation Centres (previous section).

 

* Note: More information on the legal framework, benefits and selection procedures of National-Local Joint Engineering Research Centres (Labs) can be found on the Guide for EU stakeholders published on this website, as well as: Implementation Measures for the Establishment of National-Local Joint Innovation Platforms (link).

National Enterprise Technology Centre is a status given to certain R&D structures established by enterprises with strong innovation capacities and remarkable technology results. National Enterprise Technology Centres represent role models to the industry, and have the purpose of guiding the enterprise’s innovation development, launching R&D of key industry technologies, generating and utilising IPs, and establishing technology standards. Such status guarantees a series of preferential policies and benefits, and is designed to further stimulate enterprises to increase and enhance their R&D and indigenous innovation capacities; it thus recognises the central role that enterprises play in the Chinese innovation ecosystem.

A total of 1,276 National Enterprise Technology Centres and several other branch centres had been established by the end of 2016, both in State-owned and privately-held companies. Among these, 123 centres are affiliated to foreign-invested enterprises (although mostly joint-ventures), including some belonging Shanghai Mitsubishi Elevator, SAIC Volkswagen, Pan Asia Technical Automotive Centre (SAIC – General Motors), Nantong Fujitsu Microelectronics, Whirlpool (China) Co., Ltd, etc. The full list of approved facilities can be found at this link.

National Enterprise Technology Centres receive different types of support, such as:

• Funding: National Enterprise Technology Centres are supported by NDRC through several ad hoc funding programmes, such as the Innovation Capacity-Building Special Programme; and the Strategic Emerging Industries Development Projects.
• Preferential treatment: particular priority is granted to National Enterprise Technology Centres when applying to local and national STI projects and funds.
• Tax deductions / exemptions for imported R&D products: relevant regulations for the reduction/exemption of custom duties for imports of R&D-related products also apply to National Enterprise Technology Centre. Duty-free R&D imports can be also used by the Centre’s subsidiaries located in other areas, as long as they are not separate legal entities.

 

Candidates for National Enterprise Technology Centres must meet the following requirements:

• Operate in one of the key fields indicated by NDRC’s annual application guidelines (especially Internet+, digital economy and strategic emerging industries)
• Possess competitive advantage and high-level innovation capacities in their respective fields;
• Have been operating as provincial-level Enterprise Technology Centres for over two years;
• Annual R&D expenditure should exceed 15 million RMB;
• Have a technologically-advanced and experienced team leader/director; and a research team of at least 150 full-time employees.
• Possess good infrastructure and conditions for conducting research, with the value of R&D equipment exceeding 20 million RMB;
• Possess no negative records in the past three years with respect to customs, trade, taxation, judiciary or other administrative issues.

 

* The Innovation Capacity-Building Special Programme supports National Enterprise Technology Centres to expand their R&D activities by providing subsidies for purchasing relevant R&D equipment (link to latest call); the Strategic Emerging Industries Development Projects supports specific research activities in strategic emerging industries, by providing a research grant usually amounting to 60,000 – 150,000 RMB (link to latest call in 2017). 

** Note: More information on the legal framework, benefits and selection procedures of National Enterprise Technology Centres can be found on the Guide for EU stakeholders published on this website, as well as: Measures for the Management of National Enterprise Technology Centres (link); and (Interim) Guidelines for the Evaluation Work of National Enterprise Technology Centres (link).

Created in 2012 to contribute to the implementation of the National Mid- and Long-term Talents Development Plan (2010-2020), the Innovation Talents Promotion Programme is one of China’s foremost programmes for scientific talents and innovation teams. Through government funding and preferential policies, as well as safeguarding measures, it aims to nurture world-class scientists, top-notch technology and engineering leaders, outstanding innovative teams and entrepreneurs, as well as to establish demonstration bases for the cultivation of new talents.

The programme is very active, with applications published on a yearly basis. The Innovation Talents Promotion Programme too is divided into several sub-programmes, each targeting different categories of talents or teams.

The benefits derived from being awarded one of the above programmes generally are:

• Funding: central government guarantees financial support to selected Leaders through special funds. It is unclear however what the funding scale as well as the procedures are
• Preferential treatment: similarly to State Key Laboratories, particular priority is granted to: (i) Leaders currently implementing local or national STI projects, in obtaining other forms of support; (ii) Leaders currently not implementing any STI projects, in applying to local and national STI programmes; and (iii) Leaders’ host units (institutions to which Leaders are affiliated) in applying to be recognised as State Key Laboratory or Engineering Centres

These programmes specifically target Chinese scientists or teams rather than foreign ones. European entities can still benefit from these, particularly the Young and Middle-aged STI Leaders and the STI Entrepreneurship Talents, by supporting the application of their Chinese staff. Foreign scientists can be supported by another programme – the Thousand Talents Plan (see note 2 below).

 

* Note: More information on the legal framework, benefits, eligibility requirements and specific selection procedures of the different categories of this programme can be found on the Guide for EU stakeholders published on this website, as well as: Implementation Scheme of the Innovation Talents Promotion Programme (link).

* Note 2: It should also be noted that the Innovation Talents Promotion Programme does not include the “Thousand Talents Plan”, which is explicitly directed to attract overseas Chinese and international scientists and is managed entirely by the Organisational Department of the Central Committee of the Communisty Party of China. See the specific page of the programme on this website at this link.

China-based affiliated of EU entities which are well-renowned and appreciated for their achievements and contributions to the Chinese innovation ecosystem are well-positioned to become beneficiaries of the above programmes, in particularly the National Enterprise Technology Centres.

The following opportunities generally exist for European actors:

• Joint applications with other partners:

Large parts of these programmes allow applications to be submitted jointly with other partners. This is particularly encouraged in University-Research SKLs, where several highly-specialised labs have been established as a cooperation among universities, CAS, or other research structures; and in Enterprise SKLs, where a series of labs have been established as a cooperation between two or more enterprises, or between one enterprise and one research structure. It is believed that this form of cooperation might present the highest possibilities of success: firstly, concerns potentially arising from the presence of an international actor in the application will be counterbalanced by the presence of the domestic partner; more importantly, diversified resources, cross-discipline teams, and industry-university-research cooperation have been strongly encouraged and supported by Chinese authorities in recent years, as the main direction of S&T development.

• Cooperation with already-established centres/labs

Regardless of the interest that one European actor has in applying to any of the above programmes, already-established national labs or centres represent very interesting targets for anyone looking for research partners in China. This is mainly because such facilities gather the country’s top-notch research and innovation teams in their respective fields, feature technologically-advanced equipment, and are backed by stable government support and funding. Their high level of specialisation and strong research capacities can be attractive for joint projects. This form of cooperation will also increase the EU actor’s prestige among the country’s research community, resulting in higher credit and trust which might in turn benefit its relationship and interactions with government authorities – especially when applying to any government-funded projects (for instance, after years of fruitful cooperation, the Central South University’s Xiangya No. 2 Hospital and Yale University are currently implementing a 2.35 million RMB project funded by the Natural Science Fund). Cooperation with such facilities therefore might be seen as a good initial “investment” from which starting one’s journey to government funding in China.

Independent applications are also possible, although competition from domestic actors is fierce.

Finally, European entities will benefit if their Chinese employees are awarded national-level talent programmes, because priority and support will be granted to awarded talents and thus indirectly to their host institutions when applying to other government-funded research projects. They would also benefit in terms of image and prestige and can use such case to demonstrate to authorities their commitment to foster national talents and contributing to the country’s strategy of turning into a “talents superpower”. European entities should therefore actively support the application of their Chinese staff to such programmes.

Depending on one’s involvement in the Chinese innovation ecosystem, a potential strategy that EU actors can adopt can start from one or more of the following points:

1. Identification of the most appropriate programme, especially starting from the local level: each programme has its own features, needs and requirements – as well as benefits. Each programme is usually also replicated at the local level: these are believed to be easier to access for European actors, and are often a key prerequisite to succeed at the national level.
2. Cooperation with already established facilities: this form of cooperation will increase one’s credit and image among the local scientific community and authorities. Joint R&D activities, talents exchange and mobility programmes, joint demonstration and commercialisation of key scientific results, joint development of S&T service platforms etc, will show one’s commitment to fulfilling regional and national targets and growth.
3. Application to talents programme: significant efforts should be put in pushing the application of one’s senior scientists to relevant national programmes. This is a key step as an increasingly higher number of government R&D projects are being granted to such experts. This should be done for both Chinese (Talents Innovation Promotion Programme and “1000 Talents Plan”) and foreign staff (“1000 Talents Plan” only): there is no limit on the number of scientists from the same institution that can be awarded these programmes. The higher the number of awarded-talents in one’s team, the higher the chances to obtain important R&D tasks under other local or national projects.
4. Joint applications with local partners: after a certain level of commitment to regional or national strategies is shown, European actors can consider submitting an application with one of their Chinese partners. This is considered to present higher possibilities of success; many of the currently-established bases under the pillar are, in fact, a result of joint applications between different actors.