Source: Nangfang Daily 2013-03-07 Page A05
Written by: Cao Si, Li Chunjiang, Lei Yu, Huang Yinglai
Translated by: Zhang Saijia

Xu Ningsheng, an NPC Deputy and President of Sun Yat-sen University: Encourage Private Investment to Provide Venture Capital for Innovation

Xu Ningsheng indicated that the role of technological innovation in innovation-driven development should be highly valued, and technological innovation should play a bigger part in the entire process of structural adjustment, transformation and upgrading. Universities should bravely undertake the responsibilities in technological innovation-driven development, further practice “going out, bringing in and enhancing connotation”, and give full play to the role of innovator and bridgehead.

Xu Ningsheng said that Premier Wen Jiabao reemphasized the importance of technological innovation when he deployed the overall work arrangement for this year in the Government Work Report. Specifically, the optimization of industrial distribution, the solution of the lack of core technology, the development of high and new technology industries, the promotion of strategic emerging industries, and the promotion of green development, circular development, low-carbon development as well as marine resources development, all need to be driven by technological innovation.

In the meantime, technological innovation-driven development should be led by the government and linked with the industry sector and the technology sector. To make breakthroughs in technologies that share common properties for the development of our country, we should make good use of the advantage of collectivism in achieving high goals. The government should bravely take the lead while the industry sector and technology sector should have the courage to innovate.

Xu Ningsheng also suggested that there should be focuses when technological innovation is used to propel development, and the focuses should be extended gradually and increased timely as the country develops. “Normally, we consider a new distribution every five years, which is too slow. The government should think about it every year.” Xu Ningsheng said that our country has already decided on some key areas in the development of strategic emerging industries, which can be appropriately added. Our province has selected semiconductor lighting, high-end new electronics and electric vehicle as the focuses of development of strategic emerging industries. It is open for consideration that new growth points can be cultivated in such fields as mass data, marine development and utilization, etc.

Xu Ningsheng finally proposed that the government should attach importance to the combination of technology and finance in technological innovation-driven development. The experience of developed countries shows that venture capital fund is an important condition for conducting technological innovation. It is known that the available private capital in our province is more than one trillion yuan, therefore, the government should formulate favorable policies to encourage private capital to set up venture capital fund, which will provide strong and real capital support for the technological innovation and promote the innovation work in our province.