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).