China is revamping its sci-tech administration system. The first session of the 14th National People’s Congress approved a plan to reform its state institutions under the State Council. In this plan, a revamp of the country’s science and technology ministry has attracted much attention. Under the plan, some of the ministry’s existing functions will be allocated to other government bodies, while a new commission — the Central Science and Technology Commission — will be established above the restructured ministry. After restructuring, the Ministry of Science and Technology will no longer take part in evaluating and managing specific research projects. Instead, it will mainly be responsible for guiding and supervising the operation and management of scientific research institutions, supervising the implementation of scientific research projects and evaluating their results. This substantial shift in the sci-tech administration system is expected to unleash the internal vitality of the country. All sectors of society have high hopes for this sci-tech reform as innovation is a must for China to achieve high-quality growth amid the current global decoupling trend.
Science and technology is a primary productive force. It is also an intellectual activity conducted by human beings as they explore this world. Its progress has its own patterns that should be safeguarded by the social systems. In May 2021, at the general assemblies of the members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed that “more autonomy should be given to research institutions, and scientists must be further empowered to decide their technical routes and how to use research funds. The goal is to free scientists and research institutions from tedious, unnecessary institutional restraints.” It is clear that the current system does not meet the urgent need for scientific innovation.
For innovation to take place, the country must have a strong economy and a good education system that ensures a quality population. But, for China to make major breakthroughs and maintain leadership in science and technology, the key is to follow the objective patterns of sci-tech developments, and guide scientific and tech talent to achieve their true potential. In particular, creating an environment that allows academic freedom and enables scholars to share ideas more openly and easily is not only an urgent matter but also the heart of China’s science and technology systems.
The emphasis on academic freedom and openness has practical relevance. Benefiting from the rapid economic growth, China has solved its long-lasting problem of inadequate government funding for science and technology research. China’s research and development spending nearly tripled, going from 1 trillion yuan ($140 billion) to 3.09 trillion yuan between 2012 and 2022, the second-largest amount in the world for many years. Some claim that continuous investment over a long period will eventually make China a leader in the technology race. What they fail to see is the importance of a sound, free sci-tech management system. The logic of investing lavishly to win the race, which these people believe, runs contrary to the world’s science and technology development pattern. These “cash-burning” activities may lead to some progress; however, compared to the opportunity cost the whole society has to pay, it is just not worthwhile. Without a free and open sci-tech management system, no amount of money is enough to make stunning scientific breakthroughs.
The emphasis on freedom and openness is also closely related to China’s current status in science and technology. China has made remarkable achievements in science and technology since the reform and opening up 40 years ago. Its overall capability in science and technology has increased. The country is no longer just catching up; instead, it is leapfrogging to the top position — or even leading the race in specific fields. This change is in line with the pace of China’s economic growth. During the catching-up phase, continuous investments may result in faster growth because there are clear directions and goals. But as China slowly approaches tier 1 status, innovation becomes the key engine. There is no existing path to follow anymore. What to invest in and how to use resources efficiently become questions. On China’s journey to pursue the “endless frontier” of science and technology, academic freedom and openness become the bedrock.
To ensure academic freedom, China must first respect science and scholarship in general. Access to cutting-edge research should be in the hands of technology experts and scholars, not the government officials sitting in the office. But the reality is that officials, with executive power in hand, have the right to allocate resources and, thus, have a say in academic research. This is a situation we must change. And that is exactly why removing the Ministry of Science and Technology from evaluating and managing specific research projects is important. Researchers have spent too much time in tedious reimbursement procedures and endless form filling out in recent years. The cause of this phenomenon lies in the superiority the rigid government system shows over academics and the accompanying damage to academic freedom. China needs to reduce administrative burdens on the research community — just like it did to the private sector.
A country with closed doors has no bright future. It is also impossible for such a country to keep up with the latest technology trends. Being isolated in a closed environment means that there is no way for the country to know how far it lags behind other countries in technology, let alone surpass them. China once dramatically fell behind in technology because it voluntarily cut itself off from the outside world. Since the reform and opening up, China’s capability in science and technology has benefited greatly from the unprecedented science and technology exchanges with the West, marked by the U.S.-China Agreement on Cooperation in Science and Technology in 1979. For example, China’s innovative drug industry has advanced quickly in the past few years. Behind it is a large amount of talent moving in and out of China. The world has changed. With intensified decoupling trends in technology, China will inevitably run into technological bottlenecks. The more this happens, the more open-minded we should be. We need to continually strive to improve the external environment while enhancing our sense of openness. We should also be wary of following the “decoupling” trend or falling back to being close-minded.
To promote academic freedom and openness, China also needs to adjust the role of government in markets. In a market economy, most scientific research gets aimed toward developing marketable products. In China, corporate funding stands at almost 80% of overall R&D funding. However, the government should have a major role in organizing and structuring scientific innovation, especially in basic research where the private sector is unwilling or cannot afford to invest. In recent years, enterprises like Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. have invested heavily in basic research. This is an encouraging sign, but it can never become universal. The Chinese government should exploit the best practices from around the world on topics such as how to pay back its existing debts and guide scientific research and featured basic research.
China is home to 1.4 billion people. There are plenty of scientific and technological talent. The key is to guide them to achieve their true potential. This restructuring of the sci-tech ministry aims not only to adjust government bodies’ functions but also to grant more autonomy to research institutions and science workers. We look forward to more intensive institutional reforms in the future and hope China will form a government system that supports all types of innovation and, ultimately, builds an open innovation ecosystem. Only in this way can science and technology play a role in setting China on the path toward becoming an innovator.
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