Research Update
13
OctoberA new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is unfolding at an accelerating pace. President Xi Jinping has pointed out that "scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation are the fundamental pathways to developing new quality productive forces." This important statement elucidates the intrinsic relationship between scientific and technological innovation, industrial innovation, and the development of new quality productive forces. Yet the two forms of innovation do not automatically converge. In practice, they often remain disconnected, insufficiently integrated, or poorly coordinated. How to identify precisely where the two can converge, complement each other, and generate momentum is therefore a major question that urgently needs to be addressed.
Understanding the Deeper Meaning of Integration: From Technology Transfer to Deep Integration
A clear understanding of the deeper meaning of integration between scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation is a prerequisite for identifying the right points of convergence. Traditional technology transfer follows a linear, one-way approach in which scientific and technological advances flow toward industry: researchers produce results and then seek industrial applications for them. Deep integration, by contrast, emphasizes mutual engagement and coordinated evolution. Scientific and technological innovation provides industry with endogenous momentum and critical support, while industrial innovation creates market value and application scenarios for scientific and technological advances. The two must be closely coordinated in their objectives, resources, processes, and participants.
Five relationships need to be carefully balanced in this process. First, the relationship between long-term foresight and practical application. We must plan ahead for frontier technologies and allow researchers the freedom to explore new frontiers, while also pursuing clearly defined objectives and addressing immediate industrial challenges. Second, the relationship between strategic priorities and market forces. Innovation must serve national strategic needs while respecting market mechanisms and the laws governing value creation. Third, the relationship between public benefit and exclusive rights. We must recognize the public-good nature of basic research while protecting the legitimate returns of innovation stakeholders. Fourth, the relationship between the overall picture and local conditions. We must coordinate the allocation of innovation resources nationwide while tailoring policies and measures to local circumstances. Fifth, the relationship between collaboration and competition. We must promote coordination among innovation resources and participants while fostering healthy competition to stimulate innovation and vitality.
The rationale for integration becomes even clearer when viewed through the lens of new quality productive forces. These are advanced forms of productive capacity in which innovation plays the leading role, moving beyond traditional models of economic growth and established pathways of productivity development. They are characterized by high technology, high efficiency, and high quality, and are driven by revolutionary technological breakthroughs, innovative allocation of factors of production, and profound industrial transformation and upgrading. Scientific and technological innovation is a core element in developing new quality productive forces, while industrial innovation is a principal pathway for their development and a key source of support. Integration serves as a bridge between scientific and technological innovation (the primary productive force) and industrial competitiveness. The outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) mentions science and technology 121 times and innovation 139 times, underscoring the importance attached to scientific and technological innovation in developing new quality productive forces. Deepening the integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation is a key way to translate technological strengths into industrial momentum and innovation advantages into development advantages.
Identifying the Bottlenecks to Integration
China's efforts to integrate scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation still face significant shortcomings and constraints. Identifying the right points of convergence requires first understanding where the main bottlenecks lie.
On the technology supply side, the supply of high-quality scientific and technological advances remains inadequate. China's capacity for original innovation is still relatively weak, and major original or disruptive breakthroughs that move from zero to one remain in short supply. Basic research accounts for a relatively small share of total R&D expenditure. Although China's investment in basic research approached RMB 280 billion in 2025, accounting for 7.08% of total R&D expenditure, the country still lags behind major innovation-driven economies in this respect. Bottlenecks in critical and core technologies remain pronounced. China's dependence on foreign technologies in fields such as integrated circuits, industrial machine tools, and advanced materials has yet to be fundamentally overcome. Weak links remain along the innovation chain, particularly in translating scientific discoveries into technologies and technologies into products. Some frontier research findings remain confined to laboratories or published papers. Many innovative achievements have yet to progress beyond technical reports, academic papers, or laboratory prototypes and have not been effectively translated into real-world productive capacity.
At the institutional level, the mechanisms supporting integration remain inadequate. The supply of scientific and technological advances often fails to match industrial demand, and coordination among organizations remains weak. Enterprises struggle to find the technologies they need, while researchers struggle to identify market opportunities. Institutional arrangements governing data ownership and the distribution of returns remain incomplete, impeding the efficient flow of innovation resources. Some research institutions possess advanced technologies but lack an accurate understanding of actual market needs. Consequently, the products they develop tend to prioritize technical performance indicators over practical applications. In some regions and government departments, high-value application scenarios are treated as exclusive assets belonging to a particular locality or administrative system, resulting in limited willingness and insufficient effort to open them up to the wider market. Ineffective institutional mechanisms also leave researchers reluctant to commercialize their work: some are afraid to take the risks, while others lack the motivation to do so. As a result, patents remain dormant. University–industry collaboration often goes little further than signing agreements and undertaking research projects. Once a project ends, the partnership often ends with it, leaving no sustained mechanism for deeper cooperation. These interrelated problems are impeding the deeper integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation.
Identifying the Key Points of Convergence: Targeted Action and Breakthroughs in Priority Areas
President Xi Jinping has pointed out that the foundation of integration lies in increasing the supply of high-quality scientific and technological advances, the key lies in strengthening the principal role of enterprises in technological innovation, and the pathway lies in promoting the application and commercialization of scientific and technological achievements. This important guidance provides a fundamental basis for identifying the right points of convergence. In practice, targeted measures and breakthroughs are needed in five key areas.
1. Strengthen the Supply of Science and Technology to Expand the Sources of High-Quality Innovation. A strong supply of high-quality scientific and technological advances is the foundation of deep integration. The capacity for scientific and technological innovation has become a key determinant of global industrial competitiveness, and both the quantity and quality of technological advances directly affect the performance and level of industrial innovation. China needs to improve its research organization and management systems, focusing on major national strategies and actual industrial needs to develop effective technical solutions and product concepts that address real-world challenges. Strategic efforts should be directed toward the world's scientific and technological frontiers, the main economic arena, major national needs, and people's health. Long-term, stable support should be increased for priority fields such as integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, biomedicine, and quantum science and technology. China should intensify efforts to overcome critical and core technological bottlenecks, implement major science and technology programs, and organize major research initiatives to address constraints on industrial development. Original innovation must be strengthened by advancing three forms of basic research: systematic research guided by strategic priorities, exploratory research driven by frontier science, and application-oriented research guided by market demand. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China should accelerate the development of high-level innovation platforms, advance the development of international science and technology innovation centers in Beijing, Shanghai, and the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, and build these regions into world-class hubs of scientific and technological innovation. China's national high-tech industrial development zones bring together 25% of the country's R&D personnel, 70% of its national manufacturing innovation centers, and 80% of its national key laboratories. They have generated numerous original technologies and first-of-their-kind products, including artificial intelligence chips and quantum communication satellites. These high-level platforms should fully leverage their role as sources of innovation, continuously generating high-quality scientific and technological advances that provide a steady stream of new technologies and ideas for industrial innovation.
2. Put Enterprises at the Center and Strengthen Their Principal Role in Technological Innovation. Enterprises are the main actors in a market economy. They are inherently attuned to technological innovation, product innovation, and industrial innovation, and are well positioned to connect innovation resources with market demand. Enterprises should be encouraged to play their full roles in identifying innovation needs, developing solutions, and evaluating outcomes. They should become the principal actors in decision-making on technological innovation, R&D investment, research organization, and the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements. Enterprises should be encouraged to take the lead in forming innovation consortia that bring together universities, research institutes, and other innovation resources. Private enterprises with the necessary capabilities should be supported in leading major national technological research initiatives. Mechanisms should also be improved to help technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including specialized and sophisticated SMEs that produce innovative and distinctive products, grow and strengthen their capabilities. Different types of enterprises should pursue integration pathways suited to their circumstances. For leading enterprises and supply-chain leaders entering emerging and future industries, their role is to identify technological challenges and integrate solutions across the value chain. They should take the lead by setting new standards and articulating new requirements, thereby driving technological upgrading and complementary innovation among upstream and downstream suppliers. A large number of small, medium-sized, and micro enterprises, particularly specialized component suppliers, can become part of the innovation networks led by supply-chain leaders. By meeting new requirements and supplying new products, they can upgrade their technologies and increase their value. For the many small, medium-sized, and micro enterprises in traditional industries, digital empowerment, quality improvement, and efficiency gains offer a broadly applicable pathway. By actively embracing digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and the industrial internet, they can drive digital transformation in production, management, marketing, and other business processes. Technology-leading enterprises with strong innovation capabilities, meanwhile, should have the courage to explore untapped markets and pursue original innovation. They should seek out unmet market needs, open up new growth areas, and develop innovative products and services that have never existed before.
3. Use Application Scenarios to Bridge the Gap Between R&D and the Market. Application scenarios connect technology with industry and provide a pathway from research and development to the market. They play a crucial role in driving new technologies and products toward large-scale deployment and commercial application. An application scenario functions as a form of system-level, real-world piloting. It involves both the physical validation of technologies, products, and supporting infrastructure and the practical testing of business models, market potential, and supporting institutional arrangements. Efforts should be made to open up application scenarios and ensure that scenario resources are allocated fairly and efficiently. Priority should be given to developing application scenarios in key fields, including major integrated scenarios, integrated scenarios spanning entire industry sectors, and high-value scenarios focused on specific, well-defined needs. This will help establish a pathway from technological breakthroughs to scenario validation, industrial application, and system-wide upgrading. Particular attention should be paid to accelerating the development of proof-of-concept centers and pilot-scale testing and validation platforms. These facilities can help technologies cross the "valley of death" between the laboratory and the marketplace. The outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan explicitly calls for the development of "a range of platforms for generic industrial technologies, pilot-scale testing and validation, and integrated, efficient quality infrastructure." These initiatives will help bridge the final gap in the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements, accelerate their practical application, promote industrialization, and strengthen collaboration among industry, universities, and research institutions.
4. Strengthen Institutional Linkages and Remove Barriers to Integration. Deep integration between scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation requires robust institutional support. Institutional and systemic obstacles that hinder high-quality development must be resolutely removed, and relations of production must be improved to better accommodate the development of new quality productive forces. Venture capital and a multi-tiered capital market are particularly important. They can effectively connect scientists with entrepreneurs and link technological achievements with industrial applications, helping high-risk, highly uncertain technology startups and frontier technologies make the transition to commercial deployment. Supporting institutional arrangements for technology finance and the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements should be continuously improved. Mechanisms for distributing income derived from factors of production should be refined to unleash the potential of labor, knowledge, technology, management, capital, and data. Data factor markets should be developed, and institutional challenges involving data ownership, circulation, and transactions should be addressed. Patient capital should be expanded, including through the establishment of dedicated funds for strategic emerging industries, to provide long-term financial support for technology development and industrial upgrading. A technology finance system should be developed in which the government provides guidance, the market plays the leading role, and society participates. Technology commercialization angel funds, industrial guidance funds, and similar mechanisms should be established to provide differentiated financial support tailored to the development stage of each technological achievement.
5. Foster an Innovation Ecosystem Through Greater Coordination. An effective innovation ecosystem provides fertile ground for developing new quality productive forces and has a direct bearing on the efficiency and effectiveness of innovation and its practical application. At its core, deep integration between scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation involves aligning technological supply with industrial demand, balancing open-ended exploration with goal-oriented research, and coordinating diverse objectives, resources, processes, and participants across the innovation ecosystem. Greater efforts should be made to facilitate the free flow and efficient allocation of innovation resources, including talent, technology, and capital. A supportive environment should be created that encourages innovation and tolerates failure, enabling all types of innovation participants to work with fewer constraints and pursue bold ideas. Education, science and technology, and talent development should be advanced in an integrated manner, strengthening the links between talent cultivation and industrial demand. Reforms to the science and technology system should also be deepened to remove ideological constraints and institutional barriers that impede deeper integration.
(The author is Executive Dean of the National Academy of Development and Strategy (NADS) and WU Yuzhang Chair Professor of Renmin University of China.)
Original Link：[Study Times] Finding the Right Points of Convergence Between Sci-Tech Innovation and Industrial Innovation