Promoting Enterprise-led Innovation in China

Abstract

China has made remarkable gains in industrialization and development. Over the past three decades, it has maintained gross domestic product (GDP) growth of about 9 percent per year and lifted more than 400 million people out of poverty. Entering the 21st century, China is determined to ensure the sustainability of its economic and social development, to which the innovativeness of business enterprises is critical. In 2006, the government of China laid out a strategy of enterprise-led indigenous innovation. In implementing this strategy, Chinese enterprises must cope with two severe challenges arising from the current stage of development. First, they must derive their competitiveness increasingly from innovativeness. Second, while they are innovating, they must also create jobs to keep the Chinese labor force employed. The realization of China's vision to promote enterprise-led innovation will entail concerted actions by government, the corporate sector, and the financial sector. What can the government do? The four basic recommendations of this report are to pursue a balanced strategy, to create the right incentives, to build the capacity of the private sector, and to strengthen the ecosystem for the venture capital (VC) industry.