China Issues Guidance to Promote Enterprise Technological Transformation

With the aim to promote industrial upgradation and realize scientific development, China’s State Council released the “Guiding Opinions on Promoting Enterprise Technological Transformation (guofa [2012] No.44, hereinafter referred to as ‘Opinions’) on September 1, clarifying the development objectives, main tasks and safeguarding measures for enterprise technological transformation by 2015. Some of the objectives and measures are listed below.
Development objectives by 2015

• Investment in technological transformation will occupy an increasingly significant portion of industrial investment
• Independent innovation capabilities of enterprises will improve significantly
• Output ratio of new industrial products will increase remarkably
• Advanced production capacity, resource utilization efficiency as well as clean production and enterprise safety levels will improve significantly
• The policy environment, system and mechanism for promoting the technological transformation of enterprises will be further upgraded
• The application of information technologies in key industries and backbone enterprises will achieve international advanced standards

Safeguarding measures
According to the Opinions, there are five safeguarding measures to promote enterprise technological transformation, specifically:

• Strengthening policy planning and guidance

A development plan for key industries and sectors shall be scientifically formulated, industrial policies for key industries improved, and the guidance for planning and industrial policies over technological transformation strengthened.

• Intensifying financial support

The role of government investment in guiding social investment shall be given full play, with focus on supporting technological transformation in key sectors.

• Improving preferential tax policies

The business tax to value-added tax (VAT) pilot conversion shall be steadily promoted, and intangible assets such as patents, trademarks and brand transfers shall be included in the scope of VAT collection to support enterprise technological transformation.

• Broadening financing channels

Coordination between credit policies and industrial policies shall be strengthened, thereby directing financial institutions to intensify their financing support towards enterprise technological transformation.

• Perfecting management mechanism

A unified national statistics system for investment in industrial technological transformation shall be established to strengthen the supervision, analysis and information release over investment in enterprise technological transformation.
 
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