Building an Innovative Nation in China Calls for Strengthening of Basic Research in China’s Enterprises: Findings from Innovation Mapping of Enterprises in Major Global Economies

Authors

Min LI, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China School of Public Policy and Management, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaFollow
Xian-En ZHANG, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Faculty of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Shenzhen 518055, ChinaFollow
Yun LIU, School of Public Policy and Management, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

Keywords

enterprise; global economies; innovation landscape; basic research

Document Type

Policy & Management Research

Abstract

It is known that the innovation capacity of enterprises is an important indication for an innovation economy and basic research is the source of science and technology innovation. Basic research is of course mainly carried out by universities and public research institutions, so what role should China's enterprises play in basic research has been a long-running debate. Here in this article, we first discussed the connotation of basic research and clarified the importance of applied basic research to enterprises. We then compared the innovation performance of enterprises in world's major economies in terms of their R&D investment, scientific output including publications and PCT patent applications, and competitiveness indicators. Furthermore, a visual landscape of innovation performance was formulated, which clearly shows the advantages and disadvantages of enterprises in various economies. The successful cases of some well-known enterprises prove that basic research is essential for leading enterprises to maintain competitiveness. In the past 40 years, China's enterprises as a whole have made great progress, but their basic research has been weak. This phenomenon may be attributed to the historical context of our development. In the current stage of high-quality development, we propose that substantially strengthening the basic research is of crucial importance for China's enterprises, especially industry-leading enterprises and innovative enterprises, to improve their global competitiveness and build a strong national innovation economy. In addition, the measures to strengthen the basic research for Chinese enterprises are discussed.

First page

1270

Last Page

1280

Language

Chinese

Publisher

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences

References

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Recommended Citation

LI, Min; ZHANG, Xian-En; and LIU, Yun (2022) "Building an Innovative Nation in China Calls for Strengthening of Basic Research in China’s Enterprises: Findings from Innovation Mapping of Enterprises in Major Global Economies," Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version): Vol. 37 : Iss. 9 , Article 17.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.16418/j.issn.1000-3045.20220411003
Available at: https://bulletinofcas.researchcommons.org/journal/vol37/iss9/17