Author: Chen Chunming is a distinguished researcher at the Heilongjiang Provincial Research Center for Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and a professor at the School of Economics and Management of Harbin University of Science and Technology.
The "Outline of the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China" emphasizes "promoting the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation", pointing out the direction for building a long-lasting and strong scientific and technological foundation for Chinese-style modernization. At present, a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation are evolving with unprecedented intensity and speed. It is important to firmly grasp the historical opportunities, promote the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, and give full play to the role of enterprises.
Strengthen the dominant position of enterprises in scientific and technological innovation
Scientific and technological innovation is a systematic practical activity that achieves knowledge innovation, technological breakthroughs, and achievement transformation and application through scientific research and technological development. This process is not only inseparable from the in-depth cultivation and original breakthroughs of scientific researchers in the field of basic research, but also requires enterprises to play the main supporting role to form a complete closed loop of "research and development-transformation-industrialization".
By the end of 2024, the number of registered small and medium-sized enterprises nationwide will exceed 60 million, of which the proportion of private enterprises has remained stable at more than 90% for a long time. A large group of enterprises have taken the initiative and made efforts in innovation activities, laying a solid micro foundation for the in-depth integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation. However, it should also be noted that the innovation potential of many enterprises has not yet been fully released. This is mainly due to the following reasons: First, there are obvious gradient differences in the innovation capabilities of enterprises. Leading technology companies still have shortcomings in original innovation, core technology breakthroughs, and R&D efficiency. Although small, medium and micro enterprises have the advantage of strong innovation flexibility, they are subject to constraints such as scale, capital reserves, and talent reserves, and have prominent growth bottlenecks. There are also differences in the innovation capabilities of enterprises between regions, which restricts the balanced allocation of innovation resources and the overall effectiveness. Second, the depth of enterprises’ integration into the industry-university-research collaboration chain is insufficient. There is a "two skins" phenomenon between basic research in universities and scientific research institutes and the industrial needs of enterprises. The accuracy of supply and demand docking is not high, resulting in a large number of scientific and technological achievements being "locked in the laboratory", which is difficult to effectively transform into actual productivity, and hindering the in-depth connection between the innovation chain and the industrial chain. Third, the enterprise innovation ecological support system is not yet complete. Relevant policy support still has problems such as insufficient precision and weak targeting, and it is difficult to effectively match the innovation needs of different types of enterprises; the financial support system needs to be further optimized, and the supply of differentiated financial products for technology-based enterprises, especially small, medium and micro technology enterprises is insufficient; the innovation service system is not perfect enough, and professional service capabilities such as technology transfer, intellectual property services, and scientific research facility sharing need to be further improved.
Strengthening the dominant position of enterprises in scientific and technological innovation is not only an important link in promoting the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, but also a necessary prerequisite for cultivating new productive forces and building strong support for Chinese-style modern science and technology. It requires long-term efforts, precise policies, and systematic efforts. The first is to build a gradient cultivation system and consolidate the foundation of corporate innovation entities. Based on the development positioning of enterprises of different sizes and types, guide leading science and technology enterprises to focus on original innovation and core technology research, support small, medium and micro science and technology enterprises to give full play to their flexible innovation advantages, while optimizing the innovation layout of regional enterprises, promote the appropriate tilt of innovation resources to the central and western regions, and realize the complementary advantages of various enterprises and the coordinated development of regional innovation. The second is to improve the integration efficiency of enterprises in the innovation industry chain. Build a high-level innovation consortium, improve the benefit sharing and risk sharing mechanism of industry-university-research collaborative innovation, smooth the flow channels for innovation elements such as talents, technology, and capital, and promote the deep coupling of innovation chains and industrial chains. The third is to create an excellent environment for innovation and development. Precisely optimize the supply of science and technology policies to enhance the pertinence and effectiveness of policies; strengthen financial support and guarantees, and improve the science and technology financial service system; improve the innovation service system and improve professional service levels.
Improve the core functions of enterprises in industrial innovation
Enterprises are the core carriers of industrial innovation, and the completeness of their innovative functions directly determines the speed and practical effectiveness of industrial innovation. In a period of historical opportunities where a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation are intertwined and evolving, it is crucial to improve the functions of enterprises in industrial innovation. This is by no means a superficial functional supplement, but a systematic reconstruction of development positioning, innovation models and innovation ecology.
The core functions of enterprises in industrial innovation are embodied as breakthroughs in technological innovation, revolutionaries in industrial models, and integrators of industrial chains. In the process of building a modern industrial system in our country, the functions of enterprises in industrial innovation have shown a trend of all-round expansion: first, focusing on overcoming "stuck" technical problems and continuously improving the independent research and development capabilities of cutting-edge technologies; second, coordinating key elements such as talents, data, and capital, and integrating and allocating innovative resources. The third is to drive small and medium-sized enterprises to deeply integrate into the innovation network and give full play to the leading function of industrial collaborative organizations; the fourth is to promote the efficient transformation of technological value into market value and highlight the iterative innovation function of business models; the fifth is to balance the high risk and long-term nature of innovation investment and realize the function of sharing and resolving innovation risks.
Improving the core functions of enterprises in industrial innovation is not only an important link in promoting the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, but also a key fulcrum in building a closed-loop integration and development of the two, which can provide solid support for cultivating new productive forces and building a modern industrial system. To this end, it is necessary to optimize the innovation investment structure, guide enterprises to increase investment in basic research, improve the long-term mechanism for innovation investment, and broaden innovation financing channels; build an open and collaborative innovation ecosystem, improve the efficiency of resource integration, form an industry-university-research innovation alliance, support leading enterprises in building industrial innovation platforms, and improve innovation resource sharing mechanisms; improve the innovation incentive and guarantee system, stimulate the vitality of innovation entities, optimize the internal innovation incentive mechanism of enterprises, strengthen the protection of the entire chain of intellectual property rights, and improve the accuracy and targeting of policy support.
Improve the intermediary transmission efficiency of enterprises in the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation
The deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation requires an efficient intermediary transmission mechanism as a link to achieve smooth flow of innovation elements across entities, precise matching of value creation, and closed-loop operation of the innovation chain. Enterprises have the dual attributes of market entities and innovation entities. They are not only the carriers of the industrialization of scientific and technological achievements, but also the entities expressing the marketization of industrial innovation needs. They are also the hub for collaborative innovation between industry, academia and research institutes. Improving the intermediary transmission efficiency of enterprises in the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation is of great practical significance for breaking through the blocking points of innovation transformation and improving the efficiency of innovation resource allocation.
The intermediary transmission role of enterprises in the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation is mainly realized through the three paths of factor transmission, demand transmission and organizational transmission. Element transmission focuses on the cross-subject integration and efficient transfer of key innovation elements such as talent, technology, capital, and data; demand transmission focuses on accurately connecting the actual needs of the industry to the scientific research side, focusing on solving the "two skins" problem of technology research and development and industrial demand; organizational transmission achieves the systematic integration of innovation resources by building a collaborative innovation platform, building an industrial innovation network, and breaking down barriers between innovation entities.
However, enterprises still face some practical constraints in playing their role as intermediaries. For example, intermediary transmission power is lacking and subject awareness is weak; factor transmission barriers are high and allocation efficiency is low; the institutional guarantee system is imperfect and the coordination mechanism is not operating smoothly, etc. Only by working together and building an efficient intermediary transmission mechanism can the intermediary transmission efficiency of enterprises in the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation be improved. In terms of motivation stimulation, we should strengthen the awareness of corporate entities, reduce corporate innovation costs by improving innovation incentive policies, promote companies to accelerate innovation transformation, and enhance intermediary transmission capabilities. In terms of the flow of factors, efforts should be made to open up blocking points in the flow of factors, improve the two-way flow mechanism of talents, and ensure the free flow of talents in the fields of technological innovation and industrial innovation; improve the chain of transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and smooth the channel for the transformation of laboratory achievements into production lines. In terms of institutional guarantees, we should optimize the institutional environment for collaborative innovation, strengthen the protection of the entire chain of intellectual property rights, and activate the vitality of corporate intermediary transmission; strengthen policy coordination and integration, and establish a policy coordination mechanism for the integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation; improve the benefit distribution mechanism to protect the legitimate rights and interests of all parties involved in industry, academia, and research.
"Guangming Daily" (page 11, March 17, 2026)
