China amends the Science and Technology Progress Law to promote key core technology research

The draft revision of the Science and Technology Progress Law was first submitted to the 30th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress for deliberation on the 17th.

This revision of the Science and Technology Progress Law makes some adjustments to the legal framework and content based on the eight chapters and 75 articles of the current law. Among them, three new chapters are added, namely "Basic Research", "Regional Scientific and Technological Innovation" and "International Scientific and Technological Cooperation", for a total of 11 chapters and 106 articles.

In order to strengthen basic research and enhance original innovation capabilities, the draft proposes to establish an investment mechanism for stable support of basic research and increase the proportion of basic research funds in the total research and development funds of the whole society; focus on major scientific issues around the frontiers of science and technology, economic and social development, and major national security needs, and enhance the original innovation capabilities of science and technology; improve the layout of disciplines and knowledge systems, and support the construction of basic research bases.

This revision of the Science and Technology Progress Law highlights the strengthening of national strategic scientific and technological forces and promotes the research of key core technologies. The draft clearly states that the national strategic scientific and technological forces with national laboratories, national scientific and technological research and development institutions, high-level research universities, and leading science and technology enterprises as important components should be built and strengthened; the new national system for the research of key core technologies under the socialist market economy should be improved, and major scientific and technological tasks that reflect national strategic needs should be organized and implemented.