Backbone enterprises can help remove bottlenecks

Undeniably, there are many “bottlenecks” in China’s industrial sector. To solve this problem, China needs to delve deep into talent evaluation mechanisms, collaborate with innovation mechanisms between industry, academia and research centers to create room for innovation.

Take the case of the emerging graphene industry. Data show China has 67,000 graphene-related enterprises, 60 graphene industrial parks, 113 graphene research institutes, 17 industrial innovation centers and 17 industrial alliances. Moreover, China has filed 91,900 patent applications for graphene, accounting for 72.2 percent of the global total. China has also published 261,000 graphene research papers, accounting for 74.5 percent of the global total.

China has made similar giant strides in many other branches of the high-tech sector. But that does little to ease the bottlenecks. The country should focus on institutional mechanisms to facilitate the implementation of industrial projects. This is crucial for bringing all research and development outcomes into the market. Taking national laboratories as an example, they should explore a one-on-one cooperation with a backbone enterprise in their respective field to incubate innovations that can compete in the global market.

The policymakers should realize that breakthroughs in key core technologies cannot rely on short-term investment. The country should provide long-term, sustained support to a number of innovation bases, teams with distinctive strengths and research priorities so as to enhance the nation’s capacity for original innovation.

The key to removing bottlenecks lies in cultivating backbone enterprises with market competitiveness. Promoting entrepreneurship, fully respecting and trusting entrepreneurs, and cultivating a market culture of fair competition are indispensable tools to promote enterprise development.