Three years ago, eight regions including Sichuan were identified as the pilot zones for comprehensive innovation and reform. Over the past three years, by featuring prominently the military-civilian integrated development, Sichuan has promoted the innovation works in eight areas namely scientific and technological system, opening-up, finance, industry, talent, as well as the creative construction of platforms, and governance systems. That is how Sichuan has forged a successful experience that can be emulated across the board.
The relevant person in charge of the Sichuan Provincial Office for Comprehensive Innovation and Reform told the reporter that 8 of the 13 experiences accumulated in the first batch pilot areas for comprehensive innovation and reform came from Sichuan.
The reform of military-civilian integration and innovation is one of the key experimental tasks undertaken by Sichuan Province. Sichuan has established strategic relations with the National Defense Science and Technology Bureau, 12 central military industrial groups and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. They have cooperated in implementing the shared ownership system in national defense research institutes, in establishing mechanisms for the re-development of military technology marketization and the sharing of national defense and scientific research resources, in building platforms for military-civilian technology innovation, and in developing a specialized service system for military-civilian integrated finance. At present, the top ten high-tech industrial clusters for military-civilian integration have taken shape. In 2017, the main business revenue from military-civilian integration has exceeded RMB 310 billion.
The military-civilian integration has broken many "obstacles". The reform experience of the military-civilian technology alliance, the identification and standards of admittance for core military products produced by private enterprises, and the standards of accreditation for military-civilian co-constructed enterprises have effectively promoted the coordinated innovation as well as the sharing of resources between the army and the public. Mianyang City has integrated more than 3,300 devices worth over RMB 3.6 billion by running a large-scale equipment sharing platform for military-civilian integration, benefiting more than 1,100 companies. Last year, Mianyang was home to more than 300 military-civilian integrated enterprises with an output value of RMB 153 billion, accounting for more than 50% of the city's total.
Innovation in science and technology system is another focus of Sichuan. Sichuan Province has urged 42 research institutes, 32 colleges and universities to carry out a number of pilot projects. It has launched the pilot reform of shared ownership for scientific and technological achievements. 20 units have taken the initiative in completing the division and determination of ownership rights for more than 400 items, transferring more than 600 intellectual property rights. More than 60 high-tech startup companies have been added, which has poured RMB 3 billion investment to the society.
In 2015, Sichuan Province proposed a measure to “bridge the channels for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements by taking the ownership of such achievements as a starting point and by capitalizing such achievements to achieve industrialization”. It required that “the system of shared-ownership of scientific and technological achievements must be launched which clarified that such achievements are co-owned by the relevant person and his/her affiliated units."
The responsible person for the pilot reform at the Southwest Jiaotong University of the “shared ownership of scientific and technological achievements” has told the reporter from Economic Daily that the core of this reform is to change the ownership of scientific and technological achievements from pure state-ownership to co-ownership of the state and inventors. The people who invented such patents are bestowed with property rights. Over the five years before the implementation of this reform, Southwest Jiaotong University had only 14 transferred and licensed patents. In the past one year since the initiation of such reform, 168 service invention and patents have been divided and confirmed, 16 high-tech startups have been established, and social investment has been boosted by more than RMB 1 billion, contributing to the formation of the win-win situation featuring “speedy transformation of scientific and technological achievements, effective appreciation of state-owned assets, and steadily increase of social wealth.
In terms of the reform concerning intellectual property system, Sichuan has also established a creative organization for the comprehensive management of intellectual property characterized by “combined trial of the civil, criminal and administrative cases of intellectual property”. It has established an intellectual property court in Chengdu, making it possible for cross-regional trial of such cases. The quick review mechanism of “combined trial of the civil, criminal and administrative cases” has been further improved. In 2017, the number of cases dealt involving patent application amounted to 167,500 in the province, ranking the first in the central and western regions.
