Problems remain amid China's thriving innovation, entrepreneurship

BEIJING - Despite the nation being gripped by a wave of innovation and entrepreneurship, problems related to policy implementation and risk awareness need to be addressed, a political advisor said Friday.

Many people have no idea that there are more than 2,000 supportive policies for new businesses from central and local authorities, Wang Zhibiao said while addressing a plenary meeting at the annual session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee.

Around 90 percent of the 1,310 startups surveyed at the end of 2015 said they had no knowledge of supportive policies, had not applied for support or thought the application process would be difficult, Wang said.

Half of the surveyed firms said there was not enough publicity on the support policies available while 25 percent said the policies were "too hard to understand."

Wang called for clear and effective publicity, and urged that more red tape should be cut.

There should be more information on the risks related to starting a new business, Wang said.

Though innovation incubators are mushrooming across China, emphasis has been laid more on the quantity of projects than on quality, Wang said, noting a lack of high-tech projects and disruptive innovation.

As China shifts from its dependence on infrastructure investment, policymakers are channeling energy into supporting innovation and industrial modernization. Last year, 4.4 million new enterprises were registered, or 12,000 every day.

Innovation is expected to guide China's development during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020). Expenditure on research and development in the period is targeted to be 2.5 percent of the gross domestic product, up from 2 percent last year.

The government also plans to set up some state-level innovation platforms this year.