Empower and escort power, and build a cornerstone of the rule of law for the high-quality construction of an international science and technology innovation center

On January 25, 2024, the second session of the 16th Beijing Municipal People's Congress voted to pass the Regulations on the Construction of the Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations"). This is the guarantee law for the construction of Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center, and also the basic law for Beijing to promote scientific and technological innovation, which is an important milestone in the development process of Beijing's scientific and technological innovation and the history of scientific and technological innovation legislation. After the promulgation of the "Regulations", relevant departments and experts and scholars interpreted them.

The Regulations have a total of 7 chapters and 76 articles, including general provisions, strategic planning and construction layout, innovation subjects and innovation activities, innovative talents, innovation ecology, international openness and cooperation, and supplementary provisions. On the whole, the "Regulations" focus on the implementation of Beijing's major historical mission in the construction of a scientific and technological power and the high-quality construction of Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center, with "encouraging innovation, delegating power, and stabilizing expectations" as the main tone, and vigorously create an innovation-friendly institutional environment, reflecting the legislative focus and highlights of "one insistence, two clear, and five focuses".

"One insistence"

"One insistence": adhere to the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech on the construction of Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center and the major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee.

Beijing's construction of an international science and technology innovation center is a major national strategy personally planned, deployed and promoted by General Secretary Xi Jinping. In recent years, General Secretary Xi Jinping has made a series of important expositions and important instructions on scientific and technological innovation and the construction of the Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center, which have pointed out the direction and provided fundamental guidance for the construction of the Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center. The "Regulations" are regulated and institutionalized, stipulating the implementation of the strategic positioning of the capital city, serving the major strategic needs of the country, accelerating the formation of the world's major scientific centers and innovation highlands, and achieving high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-reliance. Provide strategic support for building a strong country in science and technology, adhere to the strategic position of talent-led development, and build a high-level talent highland, deepen the reform of the scientific and technological system, promote Zhongguancun to take the lead in the trial, and build a world-leading science and technology park, promote the construction of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei collaborative innovation community, strengthen the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei collaborative innovation and industrial cooperation, actively integrate into the global innovation network, and support the Zhongguancun Forum to play a national platform for global scientific and technological innovation exchanges and cooperation.

Professor Zhou Wangsheng of Peking University Law School

This important local regulation is guided by the major strategic deployment of General Secretary Xi Jinping and the CPC Central Committee on promoting the construction of an international science and technology innovation center, and effectively promotes and guarantees the construction of Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center. Although the "Regulations" are local regulations, as far as the theme of the construction of the Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center is concerned, it has a high position, depth, wide radiation, and many bright spots, which is equivalent to a comprehensive small "constitution". With this comprehensive legal platform, there will be a basis and starting point for the development, extension and concretization of all aspects of the future construction of the Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center. The promulgation of the "Regulations" has attracted the attention of all parties, and will promote the construction of a strong Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center, and promote the development of a science and technology economy, science and technology society, and science and technology power.

"Two Clear"

The first is to clearly establish and improve the leadership system for the construction of an international science and technology innovation center and form a strong work force.

In order to give full play to the advantages of the central government's scientific and technological resources in Beijing and combine with the actual situation of the capital, the "Regulations" make it clear that, in accordance with the overall deployment and requirements of the state, the central government will work with relevant departments and units of the state to improve the institutional measures for the central government's scientific and technological innovation resources in Beijing to participate in the construction of an international science and technology innovation center; The "Regulations" stipulate that the city will strengthen the linkage with the central government's investment in science and technology, and carry out central and local cooperation in the national science and technology plan and the construction and operation of major national science and technology infrastructure. At the same time, it stipulates that the city will serve and guarantee the construction of national laboratories and national key laboratories in Beijing, and build a laboratory system with national laboratories, national key laboratories and Beijing key laboratories as the backbone. Support and service guarantee the construction of Beijing Huairou Comprehensive National Science Center.

Xue Wei, researcher at the Institute of Science and Technology Strategy Consulting, Chinese Academy of Sciences

The central government is rich in scientific and technological resources in Beijing, and the collaborative promotion mechanism is not only the practical experience of the construction of Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center, but also an important guarantee for giving full play to the efficiency of the central units. The "Regulations" plan the construction of Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center from a national strategic perspective, highlight the joint efforts of the central and local governments, and make directional provisions from many aspects such as work coordination, investment linkage, resource coordination, and talent co-construction, which lays a solid legal foundation for the further improvement of the relevant scientific and technological systems and mechanisms in the future, and is of great significance for realizing high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-reliance and accelerating the formation of a new development pattern.

The second is to clarify the strategic planning and construction layout of the international science and technology innovation center, so as to provide important guidelines for the future construction and development.

The "Regulations" make it clear that the construction of the Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center will take the Zhongguancun National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone, Zhongguancun Science City, Huairou Science City, Future Science City and Innovative Industrial Cluster Demonstration Zone as the main platforms; At the same time, it is stipulated that the construction of the Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center should promote and link development with the construction of the National Service Industry Expansion and Opening-up Comprehensive Demonstration Zone and the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the construction of a benchmark city for the digital economy, the supply-side structural reform, and the coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei.

Li Guoping, a professor at the School of Government, Peking University

At present, the construction of Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center has entered a new stage, and a series of policy experience and institutional achievements have yet to be solidified through legislation, and new problems emerging in the field of scientific and technological innovation need to be solved through legislative coordination. For the first time, the "Regulations" clarified the strategic planning and construction layout of the construction of science and technology innovation centers through legislation, stipulated the functional positioning and development direction of the main platforms, and solidified and enhanced the advantages of the capital's science and technology innovation space carrier. The "Regulations" adhere to the "five sons" linkage service and integration into the new development pattern, pay attention to the "five sons" of the construction of Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center, and give full play to the capital's role in the innovation radiation of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and the domestic region. This legislation will safeguard the leading position of Beijing as an international science and technology innovation center.

"Five Focuses"

The first is to focus on the key elements and basic needs of scientific and technological innovation, and provide a strong guarantee for the construction of an international scientific and technological innovation center.

The "Regulations" clearly stipulate that in terms of investment in science and technology, the municipal government should take science and technology as a key area of fiscal expenditure, increase financial investment, and maintain the growth rate of financial science and technology funds higher than the growth rate of fiscal recurrent income. In terms of talent gathering and development, it is stipulated that the municipal government and relevant departments shall formulate talent support and safeguard measures for the construction of the Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center, improve the policy for the settlement and introduction of innovative talents, increase the introduction of urgently needed innovative talents, and formulate and timely adjust the catalogue of urgently needed innovative talents. In terms of land demand guarantee, it is stipulated that the land for infrastructure and public facilities construction should be reasonably planned, the demand for land for scientific and technological innovation and the development of high-tech industries should be guaranteed, the cost of land for high-tech industries should be reasonably controlled, the mixed use of industrial land functions should be promoted, and the use of collective construction land should be supported to develop scientific and technological innovation industries in accordance with the law. In terms of releasing the value of data elements, it is stipulated to strengthen the open sharing of public data, improve the mechanism for the development and utilization of multiple entities of public data, strengthen international cooperation in the digital field, and establish and improve mechanisms for the supervision and service of cross-border data transmission. In terms of the open sharing of infrastructure and scientific instruments, it is stipulated that major scientific and technological infrastructure and large-scale scientific instruments and equipment built or purchased with fiscal funds shall be open and shared with the public in accordance with regulations.

Wang Fenyu, Deputy General Manager of Beijing Great Wall Enterprise Strategy Research Institute

Based on the idea of "strategy-oriented, demand-oriented, and problem-oriented", the "Regulations" focus on key elements such as capital, talents, land, data, and equipment for institutional design, and relevant measures are conducive to further breaking down the institutional and institutional obstacles that hinder the orderly flow of factors, improving the efficiency of factor allocation, and providing key elements for the construction of Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center from the perspective of the rule of law.

The second is to focus on achieving high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-reliance, and strengthen the institutional supply of basic research and key core technology research.

Achieving high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-improvement is the key to Chinese-style modernization and the strategic support for national development. Focusing on the institutional design to promote the realization of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-reliance is one of the key points and highlights of the Regulations. With regard to basic research, the "Regulations" stipulate that the stable support mechanism for basic research and the diversified investment mechanism for basic research should be improved, and that strategically oriented systematic basic research, frontier-oriented exploratory basic research, and market-oriented applied basic research should be promoted. With regard to tackling key technical problems, it is stipulated that the municipal people's government and its relevant departments shall plan and deploy key core technology research tasks according to the core technology needs of the innovation chain, industrial chain and supply chain; support leading science and technology enterprises to form innovation consortiums to carry out joint research on key core technologies and basic frontier technologies; establish a mechanism for coordinating resources to carry out key and core technology research, and organize emergency research on major scientific and technological research projects urgently needed to safeguard national security and social and public interests. At the same time, it is stipulated that the integrated development of basic research, applied research and achievement transformation will be promoted, the development of strategic emerging industries and future industries will be promoted, and high-tech industrial clusters with global competitiveness will be cultivated.

Zhao Hong, former vice president of the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences

Basic research is the foundation of scientific and technological innovation and the source of technological production, and tackling key core technologies is the top priority of the mainland's scientific and technological innovation at the present stage. The "Regulations" grasp the enterprise as the main body, and cooperate with universities and institutes to jointly build an innovation consortium, put forward demand and set tasks around the industrial chain and supply chain, so that scientific and technological innovation can face reality and be deeply grounded; At the same time, the "Regulations" stipulate that the fund formation method, scientific research organization form, project layout management and other system supply are not only a summary and sublimation of Beijing's fresh practice in recent years, but also a path guide and institutional guarantee for Beijing's future scientific and technological innovation.

The third is to focus on the implementation of the most extensive decentralization and empowerment, and fully release the power and vitality of various innovative subjects.

The "Regulations" stipulate that the Municipal People's Government and its relevant departments shall expand the autonomy of relevant scientific research of institutions of higher learning and scientific research institutions. It is stipulated to strengthen the main position of enterprises in scientific and technological innovation, improve the scientific and technological innovation service system of enterprises, support private enterprises to participate in the construction of major scientific and technological infrastructure and major innovation platforms, undertake scientific and technological projects, and explore the research and development reserve system of state-owned enterprises. It stipulates that new R&D institutions may adopt flexible and effective institutional mechanisms in terms of operation and management, personnel employment, capital investment, use of funds, intellectual property incentives, etc., and may accept social donations and funding, and broaden the channels of funding sources. It is stipulated that a responsibility system for strategic scientists should be established, and leading scientific and technological personnel should be given full control over personnel, finance, and materials and the right to decide on technical routes. Scientific and technological personnel of public institutions may, in accordance with regulations, go to enterprises for part-time or temporary posts, participate in project cooperation, or leave their posts to engage in activities for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and obtain remuneration in accordance with the law. At the same time, the "Regulations" stipulate that innovative entities are supported to carry out new technologies, new products, new services, and new model application experiments within a controllable range, and to promote the application of new products and services by means of government first purchase, subscription, and government purchase of services.

Li Xin, a professor at the Law School of Capital Normal University

The "Regulations" aim to build a scientific and technological innovation system based on trust, driven by autonomy and guaranteed by responsibility through the rule of law, so as to provide a stable, transparent and predictable institutional environment for scientific and technological innovation activities. The "Regulations" establish three specific systems that embody trust, namely the strategic scientist responsibility system, the innovation fault tolerance mechanism, and the inclusive and prudent innovation supervision mechanism. By giving greater autonomy to innovative subjects, the "Regulations" unbundle institutions of higher learning and scientific research institutions, and further release their inherent innovation potential. At the same time, the "Regulations" put forward the fundamental principle of responsible innovation, emphasizing the need to improve the management system of scientific and technological ethics, and providing clear guidance for scientific and technological innovation.

Fourth, we should focus on creating an international scientific research environment and promote the strengthening of international scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation in an all-round way.

Based on the principle of combining "bringing in" with "going out", and combining "non-governmental" promotion with "official" guidance, we will promote international openness and cooperation through legislation. The "Regulations" stipulate that organizations and individuals are supported to carry out international scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation, and to initiate or participate in international major scientific programs and projects. Support the establishment of foreign-funded R&D centers, and encourage them to undertake projects such as scientific and technological research and development, international scientific and technological cooperation, and demonstration of key application scenarios. Support organizations and individuals to initiate the establishment of international science and technology organizations or international industry and standards organizations related to scientific and technological innovation in Beijing, and build a cluster of headquarters of international science and technology organizations. Support scientific and technological social groups to recruit foreign scientific and technological talents as members, and support foreign scientific and technological talents to serve in scientific and technological social organizations in accordance with regulations. Promote the construction of a scientific and technological literature and data platform with international influence, and support the establishment of international academic journals in Beijing.

Yi Tong, director and researcher of the Institute of Innovation and Development Strategy of Beijing Academy of Science and Technology

International development is not only reflected in the chapter of "International Openness and Cooperation", but also in the content of internationalization, openness and innovation. The "Regulations" stipulate the implementation of a permanent residence points evaluation system in China, provide timely and convenient entry and exit services for international scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation, initiate the establishment of international scientific and technological organizations, etc., and propose to "explore the implementation of a direct recognition system for the professional titles of overseas high-level talents", providing a legal guarantee for a large number of overseas high-level talents to take the lead in applying for major scientific research projects after returning to China. These are the policy needs of the industry in recent years, and this time they have been officially written into the legislative provisions, which fully reflects the broad vision and firm confidence of the construction of Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center in attracting international scientific and technological talents, serving the high-quality development of the capital and high-level opening up, which is gratifying and expected.

Fifth, we should focus on achieving forward-looking and leading institutional breakthroughs, and reserve space for deepening reform and exploration in the future.

According to the relevant national deployment and the city's pioneering exploration and practice, the "Regulations" stipulate about 20 pioneering systems. In terms of the transformation of achievements, it is stipulated to improve the system of separate management of post scientific and technological achievements assets in state-owned assets. In terms of innovative talents, it is stipulated that high-level research universities and new R&D institutions are encouraged to jointly train graduate students; qualified enterprises, institutions, and social organizations are given the authority to evaluate middle and senior professional titles; and units such as national key laboratories, national technology innovation centers, and leading enterprises in science and technology may recommend technical leaders to apply for professional titles at the corresponding level in accordance with the regulations. In terms of science and technology finance, it stipulates the establishment of a government investment fund in the field of science and technology, rationally sets the proportion of government funds, improves the mechanism for the supervision, assessment and withdrawal of government funds, cultivates and expands the group of angel investors, establishes and improves the entry and exit mechanism of state-owned venture capital capital, guides long-term capital such as commercial insurance funds to participate in venture capital, and supports the exploration and development of credit innovation such as stock option loans, merger and acquisition loans, and talent loans. In terms of optimizing the innovation ecology, it is stipulated that professional titles, papers, awards, etc. shall not be used as restrictive conditions for the application of scientific and technological projects; public institutions and state-owned enterprises shall improve the system of due diligence and exemption for scientific and technological innovation. In terms of opening up and cooperation, it is stipulated to improve the cross-border use and management mechanism of funds for science and technology projects, and to build a comprehensive bonded zone featuring R&D and innovation. At the same time, the "Regulations" also reserve space for future reform exploration, for example, stipulating that the city should strengthen cooperation and coordination with relevant state departments such as customs in Beijing, improve the level of customs clearance facilitation of scientific research materials, and explore the direct recognition system for overseas high-level talents.

Xue Wei, researcher at the Institute of Science and Technology Strategy Consulting, Chinese Academy of Sciences

This legislation highlights the problem orientation and reflects the new legislative idea of "bringing reform through legislation", that is, providing legal guarantee for relevant reforms in the future through legislation. There are many breakthrough provisions in the Regulations. For example, in terms of finance, the "Regulations" have made a breakthrough in proposing "exploring equity and debt linkage businesses such as stock option loans under the premise of controllable risks", "exploring and increasing the proportion of M&A loans for science and technology enterprises in M&A transaction prices", and "expanding the scope of credit support for scientific and technological talents". At the same time, many contents of the "Regulations" have been moderately advanced in the design of the system, and some principled provisions have been made, which has reserved space for reform and exploration.