In terms of the government investment and the turnout of
invention patent, state-owned scientific research institutes are no
doubt the most inefficient while foreign enterprises, private
enterprises and non-government applicants own two-thirds of the
invention patents in China, said Hu Angang, professor and director
of the China Studies Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and
Tsinghua University, at the Second Science and Technological Forum
of Hubei Province held recently.
Hu drew the above conclusion after comparing the invention
patents and the government investment in state-owned organizations
from 1997 to 2001. He urged the government to adopt a more
efficient investment policy for technological innovation so as to
raise the inventive capability of the society as a whole.
Statistics show that the average cost of an innovation patent is
42-73 million yuan in state-owned scientific research institutes;
11-19 million yuan in colleges and universities; and 3-11 million
yuan in large and medium-sized enterprises. The high cost of
state-owned institutes reflects the inefficiency of the government
input in technological innovation.
To make better use of government technological innovation
investment, Hu suggested, the government should re-list the
priorities. Top priorities should be given to those large
enterprises which can possibly enter the list of the world’s top
500 enterprises in the next five to 10 years. Enterprises and
organizations whose invention patents had surpassed 100 in the past
three years should take the second place. Private technological
enterprises with their own intellectual property rights should also
receive financial support from the government. At the same time,
the government should provide increasing support to individual
innovators.
According to Hu Angang, the open bidding system should be
applied. Apart from those relating to national security, other key
national technological innovation programs can all be done through
open bidding, so that organizations and enterprises can take a fair
participation. Moreover, there should be evaluation by the third
party for each program, and the inefficient ones should be kicked
out from the game.
(China.org.cn by Zheng Guihong, October 30, 2003)