China to put state-owned firms, capital to work nurturing tech champions

China has pledged to provide a range of supportive measures to promote the diffusion of advanced technology through all levels of the country’s economy, as Beijing seeks to strengthen frontier industries such as artificial intelligence amid an intensifying rivalry with the United States.

In its annual work report, the government urged state-owned enterprises to take the lead in opening their vast industrial ecosystems to emerging technologies, and vowed to supply the necessary funding for all companies – from start-ups to public firms – to pursue new innovations through their “full life cycle”.

Delivered by Premier Li Qiang at the opening of China’s top legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC), in Beijing on Thursday, the government work report laid out a list of policy priorities for the economy, scientific research, the military and other areas this year.

In recent years, Beijing has embarked on a wide-ranging campaign to accelerate the development of high-value industries like integrated circuits, aviation and aerospace, biomedicine and the “low-altitude economy”.

Other sectors highlighted in the report include next-generation energy, quantum technology, embodied AI, brain-computer interfaces and sixth-generation (6G) telecommunications. Mechanisms would be established to increase funding and share risks in these fields, the premier said.

Beijing also pledged to provide a broader range of financing options to nurture the next generation of technology “unicorns” – start-ups valued at more than US$1 billion – and strategic industries.

China would “improve full life cycle, whole-of-chain financial services for scientific and technological innovation” and create fast track channels for public listings, mergers, acquisitions and restructuring for companies in key technology sectors, according to the report.