The principal role of enterprises in technological innovation should be reinforced, according to the Recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan (FYP) for National Economic and Social Development (hereinafter referred to as Recommendations).

This ongoing strengthened strategic orientation has also boosted the confidence of entrepreneurs, according to Science and Technology Daily (S&T Daily) interviews with many business leaders. It is envisaged that during the 15th FYP period (2026-2030), enterprises will feature more prominently in the national innovation system, leading to breakthroughs in key technologies and exploration of emerging fields.

Key tech breakthroughs

During the 14th FYP period (2021-2025), the innovation strength of Chinese enterprises has been consistently improved. In 2024, China's total R&D expenditure, ranking second in the world, reached 3.6 trillion RMB, of which 77 percent was investment from enterprises.

The Recommendations encourage enterprises to make more investments in basic research, and underscore developing new drivers of economic growth such as quantum technology, biomanufacturing, hydrogen and nuclear fusion power, brain-computer interfaces, embodied artificial intelligence, and 6G mobile communications.

To date, enterprises have made breakthroughs in multiple key technologies. For example, Chinese enterprise CIQTEK, a high-end scientific instruments developer and manufacturer, has realized localization of basic scientific research instruments such as electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometers, and developed the world's first low-temperature scanning nitrogen-vacancy probe microscope.

Quantum precision measurement, as one of the quantum information technologies closest to industrial breakthroughs, is now at a critical stage of moving from the laboratory to application, said Xu Kebiao, vice president of CIQTEK.   

Continuous investment is the cornerstone of technological breakthroughs, said Zhuo Yibin, Chairman assistant of Xiamen Yangsen NC Equipment Co., Ltd., adding that during the 14th FYP period, the enterprise invested over 50 million RMB in R&D annually, to successfully develop high-end machine tools.

Collaborative effort

The achievements made are inseparable from the empowerment of long-term policy guidance and practical measures. The government coordinates resources and provides institutional guarantees, thereby promoting the transformation of future industries from technological breakthroughs to commercial application, and forming new quality productive forces.

In the Intelligent Equipment Town of Xinchang county, Shaoxing city, Zhejiang province, Xu Weiqiang, chairman of Hydroc Technology (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd., said that his team came to this small city in 2020 because of the favorable policies and diverse application scenarios Xinchang has created for the low-altitude economy. This enables the enterprise's products to be widely applied in fields such as anti-drowning aerial patrol, aviation publicity and rescue missions.

Meanwhile, in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, Huasheng Composits made a breakthrough in the domestic production of automatic filament laying equipment during the 14th FYP period. Its founder Duan Yugang told S&T Daily （斜体） that the Shaanxi Qinchuangyuan sci-tech innovation platform has helped the enterprise deal with complex financing and market issues, which has supported its technology transfer.

Looking ahead, the establishment of China's technological innovation system will prioritize enterprises as its strategic foundation, channel resources towards original innovation, and strive to build a new mechanism featuring a virtuous cycle of "technology - industry - finance" and deep integration of technological innovation, industry, human resource and finance, said Yang Zhen, associate researcher of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.