Ministry to eliminate tech bottlenecks

The Ministry of Science and Technology will soon publish detailed rules to implement the August revision of the Law on Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements, Minister Wan Gang said at a news conference on Wednesday.

"We are working on regulations concerning the implementation of the law," Wan said. "Once promulgated, this policy will stimulate researchers to further transfer their sci-tech achievements."

"Institutional bottlenecks" impede technology transfers in China, Wan said. "In the past, a research institute had to get approval from the Ministry of Education when they sold technology for more than 5 million yuan ($765,000), and from the Ministry of Finance if it exceeded 8 million yuan."

"We also stipulate that the individual or team that accomplishes a scientific breakthrough can take a 50 percent or higher share of the benefit generated from it," he said.

In 2014, China's trade in technology reached 857 billion yuan. Last year it was estimated at 920 billion yuan.

Tong Qingxi, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the capital chain is also significant in technology transfers.

"Many scientific achievements are laid aside because they are short of transfer capital," Tong said in an essay published in Beijing-based China Science Daily on Wednesday.