Strengthen the protection and use of intellectual property rights

On March 5th，the 4th Session of the 12th National People’s Congress opened at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. On behalf of the State Council, Premier Li Keqiang delivered the report on the work of the government. Li Keqiang said innovation is the primary driving force for development and must occupy a central place in China’s development strategy, which is why we must implement a strategy of innovation-driven development. We will strengthen the protection and use of intellectual property rights and look to the law to crack down on the infringement of these rights and on the production and sale of counterfeit products. 

Li Keqiang said, innovation is the primary driving force for development and must occupy a central place in China’s development strategy, which is why we must implement a strategy of innovation-driven development. We should launch new national science and technology programs, build first-class national science centers and technological innovation hubs, and help develop internationally competitive high-innovation enterprises. We should make consistent efforts to encourage the public to start businesses and make innovations. We should promote the extensive applications of big data, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things. We need to move faster to transform China into a manufacturer of advanced and quality products. We should strive to achieve major breakthroughs in basic research, applied research, and research in strategic and frontier fields by 2020. China’s investment in research and development is expected to reach 2.5% of GDP, and the contribution of scientific and technological advances toward economic growth should come to reach 60%. Fulfilling these objectives will turn China into an innovative and talent-rich country. 

Li Keqiang said, this year, we will carry out the following eight tasks. First, improve and keep stable our macroeconomic policies to ensure that the economy performs within an appropriate range. Second, strengthen supply-side structural reform to drive sustained growth. Third, tap the potential of domestic demand to increase the space for development. Fourth, speed up efforts to develop modern agriculture and ensure sustained increase in rural incomes. Fifth, carry out a new round of high-quality opening up and work to achieve mutually beneficial cooperation. Sixth, step up environmental governance efforts and work to see breakthroughs in green development. Seventh, strengthen social development to promote people’s wellbeing. Eighth, improve government functions, strengthen our administrative capacity, and deliver quality government services. 

Li Keqiang said, we will ensure that the whole country’s potential for starting businesses and making innovations is released. We will implement the strategy of innovation-driven development, see that science and technology become more deeply embedded in the economy, and improve the overall quality and competitiveness of the real economy. 

First, we will ensure that enterprises lead in making innovation. We will implement additional tax deductions for their research and development and increase tax policy support for high-tech enterprises and science and technology business incubators. We will support leading enterprises in building top-level research and development institutions. We will move faster to achieve nationwide implementation of the policy of national innovation demonstration zones, establish another set of national innovation demonstration zones and high-tech development zones, and establish pilot reform zones for all-round innovation. 

Second, we will help people to pool their ideas and talents through a synergy of business startups, innovation, and the Internet Plus. Platforms will be created for crowd innovation, crowd support, crowdsourcing, and crowdfunding, and mechanisms will be built to encourage new types of business startups and innovation-making through cooperation between enterprises, institutions of higher learning, research institutes, and makers. We will establish demonstration centers for business startups and innovation and encourage the development of a business startup service industry as well as angel investment, venture capital, industrial investment, and other investment. We will give our support to the development of a sharing economy and see that resources are used more efficiently and that more people take part and benefit. We will adopt more active, open, and effective policies to attract talent from overseas. We will strengthen the protection and use of intellectual property rights and look to the law to crack down on the infringement of these rights and on the production and sale of counterfeit products. 

Third, we will deepen the reform of the management system for science and technology. Greater autonomy will be given to universities and research institutes, and red tape will be cut in the management of research projects. Policies and measures will be implemented to support the transfer and commercialization of scientific and technological achievements, and tax incentives for stocks and options, and profit sharing and bonus plans will be improved to encourage researchers to start businesses and make innovations. We will foster a culture of innovation and create an enabling environment for innovation in which people venture to break new ground and failure is tolerated. I am sure that these initiatives will inspire entrepreneurialism and motivate our society to start businesses and make innovations, and thus create a powerful force to drive development.