(CFP Photo)

The Jiangsu provincial government has recently introduced 22 measures to encourage the establishment and growth of foreign-funded R&D centers.

To support R&D centers that can function as innovation platforms, the province will ensure the provision of land, equipment, infrastructure and other necessary factors of production. The centers are encouraged to foster collaborative innovation through partnership with domestic and foreign enterprises, higher education institutions, and research institutions, and through integration of technology, talents, capital, and industry chain resources.

To drive the innovation-driven development, Jiangsu supports qualified foreign-funded R&D centers to apply for high-tech enterprise recognition and assures their right to enjoy preferential tax policies. The province will also facilitate access to large-scale scientific instruments, major S&T projects reports and data to conduct basic research, and encourages them to undertake S&T tasks at various levels.

According to the province's Department of Commerce, the measures have consolidated pro-innovation policy initiatives by various departments, in order to create a better environment for foreign-invested companies.

Meanwhile, the measures have effectively addressed concerns of enterprises, including the barriers and policy issues related to R&D. For example, authorities have proposed targeted solutions for their concerns, such as customs clearance of biomedical reagents for R&D purposes and intellectual property infringement.

"The development of foreign-funded enterprises in China has progressed through three stages: selling products, manufacturing products, and creating products through localized R&D," said Liu Qing, president of the Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute.

"It would be a mutually beneficial situation for foreign-funded enterprises to become more integrated into the local R&D and innovation ecosystem in Jiangsu," he added.