Financial support for technological innovation: this promotion meeting has new arrangements

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, April 1— Topic: Financial Support for Scientific and Technological Innovation—This Promotion Meeting Will Bring New Arrangements

Xinhua News Agency reporter Wu Yu

Scientific and technological innovation cannot do without financial support. On March 31, a science-and-technology finance work exchange and promotion meeting was held at the People’s Bank of China. Around supporting the development of technology-based enterprises, financial regulatory departments, science and technology departments, local governments, financial institutions, and others listened to the needs of enterprises, introduced policy measures, and discussed how to further improve the quality and effectiveness of science-and-technology finance services.

“Scientific and technological innovation is a clear and resolute long-term strategy. We need to keep deepening structural reforms on the financial supply side and continuously enhance the fit between financial services and technological innovation.” At the promotion meeting, Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People’s Bank of China, spelled out the important mission of science-and-technology finance.

After last year, seven departments jointly issued 15 policy measures for science-and-technology finance, a series of financial measures to support scientific and technological innovation was also rolled out in clusters at the beginning of this year:

The relending quota for scientific and technological innovation and technological upgrading has been increased to 1.2 trillion yuan, bringing privately owned small and medium-sized enterprises with higher levels of R&D investment into the support scope; a risk-sharing tool for science-and-technology innovation and private-enterprise bonds will be set up by merging relevant arrangements, providing guarantee and credit-enhancement support for sci-tech bonds; four departments jointly introduced 20 measures to accelerate the high-quality development of technology insurance……

The reporter learned at the promotion meeting that in the process of developing science-and-technology finance, departments and the central government and localities are strengthening coordination, and guiding funds to flow into the field of scientific and technological innovation.

“From building to maturity, the embodied intelligence technology system has a long cycle and high risks. This is precisely where early-stage venture capital and the national industrial fund’s patience and courage come in—supporting us to cross the ‘valley of death.’” Wang He, founder of Galaxy General, told reporters that in the more than two years since the company’s establishment, patient capital guided by the state had injected a total of nearly 6 billion yuan into the company, helping it achieve rapid development from technological breakthroughs to commercial validation, with the valuation surpassing 20 billion yuan.

Stories like this—where finance supports technology companies to tackle tough challenges and speed up the transformation of innovation results—are also plenty at the promotion meeting.

Mi Lei, founding partner of Kechuang Xing, looked back on the brief “capital winter” that the science-and-technology finance sector once experienced, and also expressed satisfaction at how the venture capital environment has improved significantly this year, with large amounts of capital flowing into hard technology and future-industry fields. With support from a series of financial measures, last year the enterprises successfully raised 4 billion yuan in a sci-tech fund and successfully issued 400 million yuan in sci-tech innovation bonds. Currently, these sci-tech bonds have already leveraged more than 10 billion yuan in funding, targeting hard-technology projects with precision.

As the lead bank for bond underwriting, Zhang Weizhong, chairman of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, introduced the latest practices for serving technology enterprises at the venue. He said that Shanghai Pudong Development Bank has made science-and-technology finance its top primary track and, along the full life cycle of technology enterprises, has built a service model of “equity, debt, loans, insurance, renting, and incubation in one.” So far, it has served enterprises with cumulative financing of over 70 billion yuan through the bond market’s “Science-Tech Board.”

In recent years, the financing environment for technology enterprises has continued to improve, which is the result of financial institutions fully enhancing their capabilities in serving scientific and technological innovation finance.

Rolling out an action plan to support the development of the artificial intelligence industry chain, launching a program to cultivate sci-tech customers, promoting an innovation points system 2.0… Over the past year, Bank of China has been actively exploring in the field of science-and-technology finance. As of the end of February, the balance of Bank of China’s science-and-technology finance loans had reached 5.06 trillion yuan. At the promotion meeting, Wang Haijiao, chairman of Bank of China, disclosed that in 2026 Bank of China plans to add 770 billion yuan in science-and-technology loans and 30,000 new science-and-technology customers.

At present, there are still difficulties and pain points in science-and-technology finance that need to be addressed. “Tackling hard-technology challenges requires long-cycle accompaniment by ‘patient capital.’ We hope the system for science-and-technology finance can further guide more ‘long-term funds’ and ‘stable funds’ into the ‘unmanned areas’ of science and technology, and strengthen the innovation foundation.” Wang He said the expectations of many technology enterprises.

In the government work report for this year, it is proposed to strengthen financial services across the full chain and full life cycle for scientific and technological innovation. For technology-type enterprises in key core technology areas, implement on a normalized basis a “green channel” mechanism for listing financing and mergers and acquisitions and restructuring, so as to support innovation and creation through science-and-technology finance.

The reporter learned at the promotion meeting that next, relevant departments and financial institutions will continue to improve the work mechanism for science-and-technology finance, strengthen coordination and information sharing; enhance professional capabilities in science-and-technology finance services and enrich financial products tailored to the characteristics of high-tech fields; and bring into full play the policy roles of relending for science-and-technology innovation and technological upgrading, the equity investment pilot of financial asset investment companies, merger and acquisition loans for technology enterprises, and the bond market’s “Science-Tech Board,” to ensure that financial resources flow more precisely into the field of scientific and technological innovation.

Solving the financing difficulties of technology enterprises cannot be done overnight, but this promotion meeting has sent an important signal, giving many sci-tech enterprises a “peace-of-mind pill.” In the future, stable and ample “fresh financial capital” will continue to flow into the innovation hubs, helping the flowers of science and technology bloom even more brilliantly.

（Source: Xinhua News Agency）