China will increase support, subsidies for tech firms, official says
- Sector needs a breakthrough and Washington’s protectionist moves can provide the catalyst for it, industry vice-minister Wang Zhijun says
- Comments come after Chinese President Xi Jinping issued rallying call on trip to Jiangxi province
China will increase its support and subsidies for technology firms amid rising protectionism from the United States, a senior official said on Friday.
Vice-minister for industry and information technology Wang Zhijun said Washington’s recent moves to stymie Chinese firms would help those companies to cut their reliance on foreign technologies.
“Recently, the US has taken a series of measures to crack down on Chinese companies for political purposes,” he said.
“[But] it is in fact a good thing for Chinese firms. China’s manufacturing upgrade requires a breakthrough in key and core technologies, [and] we need to speed up the process.”
To encourage that transition, Wang said the government would play a greater role in formulating strategy, increase research and development subsidies for technology companies, and offer those firms better for their intellectual property.
“We will strengthen the strategic guidance at the national level, devote more resources to achieving a breakthrough in core technologies, and create a market environment for fair competition,” he said. “At the same time, the government will increase its financial support for basic research … and encourage companies to devote more resources to it.”