Chinese Regions Explore Differentiated Paths to Boost Scientific and Technological Innovation
Cities and regions across China are actively exploring differentiated approaches to support scientific and technological (sci-tech) innovation, tailoring policies to their unique advantages and industrial needs to foster new productive forces and enhance technological self-reliance.
On 25 February, Wuchang District in Wuhan held an Ecological Conference on the Integration of Sci-Tech Innovation and Industrial Innovation. At the conference, representatives of the district’s first batch of "grant-to-equity" projects signed agreements collectively, marking the official transition of the district’s early-stage financial support for local sci-tech enterprises from policy planning to practical implementation.
One day earlier, on 24 February, Hefei held a Municipal Conference on Sci-Tech Innovation Leading the Development of New Productive Forces and released a series of measures to support innovation and entrepreneurship. In terms of innovation capital empowerment, Hefei will innovatively establish three thematic fund groups, each with a scale of 10 billion yuan, targeting the differentiated needs of "sci-tech innovation incubation, emerging industry development and future industry cultivation". With a maximum duration of 20 years and a tolerance rate of up to 80%, the funds aim to better leverage social capital.
Similarly, Jiangsu Province rolled out eight enterprise-benefiting policies on 20 January 2026, with a key highlight being the pilot policy for policy-based sci-tech insurance. Focusing on emerging and future industries such as artificial intelligence, biomanufacturing and brain-computer interfaces, the provincial finance provides subsidies of up to 50% of the premium for eligible insured enterprises. In addition, policies including sci-tech innovation bond interest subsidies, "Su Mao Dai", "Su Fu Dai", "Environmental Protection Dai" and "Su Hui Bao" work together to form a multi-dimensional policy support network.
Beijing, which boasts abundant scientific research resources and strong original innovation capabilities, has targeted the key link of achievement transformation. To address the difficulties in technology verification, long cycles and high costs in the engineering stage of lab achievements — which require a "pilot test" to become real products — Beijing released its first industrial policy in 2026 on 4 January. The policy clearly supports the construction of a batch of pilot test platforms in a gradient manner, with a maximum subsidy of 100 million yuan for newly-built platforms.
Industry experts noted that differentiated regional support for sci-tech innovation is an important embodiment of the modernization of China’s sci-tech innovation governance system. It gives full play to local initiative and motivation while aligning with the national strategic overall situation, providing solid support for achieving high-level technological self-reliance and building a new development pattern.
They added that such differentiated efforts reflect the matching of regional endowments, adaptation to industrial stages and innovation of policy tools, marking a more precise and systematic approach to sci-tech support in China. Hefei focuses on full-cycle innovation with long-term, high-tolerance thematic funds; Beijing targets pilot tests to smooth the key node of achievement transformation; Jiangsu builds a multi-dimensional risk-sharing and financing support system through sci-tech insurance. These measures address different pain points such as incubation, transformation, industrialization and risk mitigation, avoiding homogeneous competition and forming complementary linkage in the national sci-tech ecosystem.
Looking ahead, experts suggested that sustained support for sci-tech innovation could focus on a combination of "precision, full-cycle support, strong leverage, emphasis on transformation and differentiation". The core is to take fiscal funds as a lever, financial tools as a link and industrial demand as a guide, smooth the entire chain from R&D and pilot tests to industrialization and large-scale production, strengthen the dominant position of enterprises and foster new productive forces.
