In terms of the government investment and the turnout of invention patent, state-owned scientific research institutes are no doubt the most inefficient while foreign enterprises, private enterprises and non-government applicants own two-thirds of the invention patents in China, said Hu Angang, professor and director of the China Studies Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Tsinghua University, at the Second Science and Technological Forum of Hubei Province held recently.

Hu drew the above conclusion after comparing the invention patents and the government investment in state-owned organizations from 1997 to 2001. He urged the government to adopt a more efficient investment policy for technological innovation so as to raise the inventive capability of the society as a whole.

Statistics show that the average cost of an innovation patent is 42-73 million yuan in state-owned scientific research institutes; 11-19 million yuan in colleges and universities; and 3-11 million yuan in large and medium-sized enterprises. The high cost of state-owned institutes reflects the inefficiency of the government input in technological innovation.

To make better use of government technological innovation investment, Hu suggested, the government should re-list the priorities. Top priorities should be given to those large enterprises which can possibly enter the list of the world’s top 500 enterprises in the next five to 10 years. Enterprises and organizations whose invention patents had surpassed 100 in the past three years should take the second place. Private technological enterprises with their own intellectual property rights should also receive financial support from the government. At the same time, the government should provide increasing support to individual innovators.

According to Hu Angang, the open bidding system should be applied. Apart from those relating to national security, other key national technological innovation programs can all be done through open bidding, so that organizations and enterprises can take a fair participation. Moreover, there should be evaluation by the third party for each program, and the inefficient ones should be kicked out from the game.

(China.org.cn by Zheng Guihong, October 30, 2003)