China records increase in science commercialization

China has seen an increasing number of scientific and technological achievements being commercialized and industrialized, a recent report shows.

The report, released by National Center for Science & Technology Evaluation, Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China and a research council for China’s science and technology achievement management, is an annual analysis on the progress of commercialization of technological fruits.

It shows that in 2017, the technological trading volume reached 12.1 billion yuan, an increase of 66 percent year-on-year. The average deal price also increased significantly and scientists were able to raise more cash and equity incentives.

The academic institutions have become more motivated in supporting mass entrepreneurship by exporting science into the market and providing services including technology transfer and technical consultation, with 6,457 establishing joint R&D platforms with enterprises, a year-on-year increase of 33 percent, according to the report.

To boost innovation and productivity, lawmakers amended the law of the transformation of scientific and technological achievements in 2015. The State Council has also issued a document in 2016 to ensure smooth implementation of the law.

Xie Min, director of National Center for Science & Technology Evaluation, said science commercialization has been fruitful in general yet still faces challenges. Though the law and policy are in place, there is still much room to make it more specific and practical for academic institutions to implement.

Professional talents and organizations are also in high demand to help turn science more marketable, he said, adding that only 9.5 percent of academic institutions set up professional science commercialization organization, he said.

An evaluation system is needed to help more institutions realize the importance of science commercialization instead of only focusing on academic papers and encourage them to get engaged, he added.

Yang Xianwu, deputy director of the tech commercialization department, Ministry of Science and Technology, said the ministry will next up push forward more policies that help meet researchers’ demands and solve the difficulties they face.

“Technology is progressing in a rapid speed. If the scientific achievements cannot enter market soon enough, they may lose their value. Therefore it is very necessary to accelerate policy improvement to make the process more efficient,” he said.