China is confident that it will become an "innovative country" by 2020
despite arduous tasks ahead, Minister of Science and Technology Xu Guanhua said
on Friday.
In 2001, China ranked 28th among 49 major countries in terms of comprehensive
scientific and technological innovation capability.
Xu Guanhua, minister of science and
technology, answers questions from reporters at a news conference in
Beijing March 10, 2006. [newsphoto] |
"We must
enter the top 20 before we can say that we have realized our target," Xu told a
news briefing on building an innovation-oriented country on the sidelines of the
ongoing session of the National People's Congress.
"Our per capita supply of energy, water and land resources is becoming more
stringent as we face pressing problems in resources and environment," Xu said.
Only by promoting science and technology can China solve these problems, he
noted.
According to Xu, Chinese enterprises are under increasing pressure from
international competitors in globalization.
They have to pay high patent fees, for example, 20 per cent of a mobile
phone's price, 30 per cent of a computer's and 40 per cent of the price of a
program-controlled digital machine tool, to foreign patents owners.
To change the situation, the budget for science and technology this year will
reach 71.6 billion yuan (US$8.9 billion), up 19.2 per cent year-on-year,
according to Zhang Shaochun, assistant minister of finance.
He said the government will ensure that expenditures on research and
development (R&D) grow at a faster pace than fiscal revenues in the next
five years.
The government will also offer tax incentives to innovative businesses, he
said.
The new tax policies will allow an enterprise to use 150 per cent of its
spending on R&D to offset payable income tax of that year.
"In other words, the government will give tax rewards to companies that are
actively involved in R&D," said Fang Hanting, a senior researcher with the
National Research Centre for Science and Technology Development.
