(Yicai) March 5 -- Several members of the National People's Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference have called on China to improve the technology transfer system at this year's Two Sessions, the country’s annual policy setting meetings.

Research findings from many laboratories cannot be directly applied due to the lack of commercialization funds, so China should introduce national-level policies for technology transfer and commercialization, increase government investment in the field, and cultivate related talents to promote the social utilization of lab achievements, said Huang Yongping, a member of the NPC and professor at the School of Environmental Science and Engineering of Shanghai Jiaotong University.

The Two Sessions are the annual plenary meetings of the NPC and the CPPCC, which are the country's top legislative and political advisory bodies, respectively. This year's Two Sessions will run from yesterday to March 11.

China should set up a national-level innovation platform to provide targeted support for talents and companies in key technology innovation areas, such as artificial intelligence chips, thus offering more assistance for technological breakthroughs by hardware companies, said Deng Zhonghan, a member of the CPPCC and academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

The Central Committee of the China Association for Promoting Democracy proposed strengthening the leading role of enterprises in the innovation chain, creating a favorable ecosystem for industrial innovation, enhancing the international competitiveness of strategic emerging industries, and reinforcing international scientific and technological cooperation.

China should encourage firms to take the lead in identifying problems with research institutes, plan technological routes, establish joint funds, overcome difficulties in technology transfer, increase the participation of companies in government research funds, involve more enterprises in basic research, scientific and technological innovation, encourage innovative cooperation between enterprises, universities, and research institutions, and accelerate the application of scientific and technological achievements, the Central Committee of the CAPD noted.

China's expenditure on research and development reached CNY3.33 trillion (USD462.7 billion) last year, up 8.1 percent from the previous year and accounting for over 2.6 percent of the country's gross domestic product, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Editor: Futura Costaglione