At present, the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is deepening, with disruptive technologies rapidly iterating and upgrading. How to improve relevant access systems, orderly relax access restrictions, and better promote the development of new business forms and fields has attracted widespread attention from all market participants.
Not long ago, the "Opinions on Improving Market Access Systems" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions") were issued, which made forward-looking arrangements for the market access system of new business forms and fields from aspects such as improving the negative list management model of market access, scientifically determining market access rules, optimizing the market access environment for new business forms and fields, and increasing the intensity of pilot efforts to relax market access. Experts believe that the "Opinions" improve access efficiency by shifting from administrative approval to standard leadership, which is conducive to accelerating the construction of an open, transparent, standardized, orderly, equal competition, clear rights and responsibilities, and strong regulatory market access system and a high-level socialist market economic system.
Innovate Access Management Methods
As a new business form, the industry of unmanned and autonomous driving vehicles has continued to heat up in recent years. However, due to the lack of market access rules, its commercialization path faces many difficulties.
The approach of Nansha District, Guangzhou City, is to demarcate the first local test pilot area and mixed pilot area, and to take the lead in launching the pilot work of commercializing unmanned driving on December 29, 2023. It issued the first batch of passenger car unmanned commercialization vehicle permits, allowing these vehicles to carry out commercialized travel services within the road range applied for by the enterprise.
The commercialization of unmanned and autonomous driving vehicles is a vivid embodiment of "scenario-driven access." Li Chunlin, Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that market access management for new business forms and fields should give full play to the role of market mechanisms, take standards and scenarios as the traction, promote the formation of a more flexible and resilient access management mechanism, and further optimize the access methods for new business forms and fields in accordance with the principle of "standard leadership, scenario opening, market promotion, industry focus, and system upgrading."
How to accelerate the transformation of ultra-large-scale market resources into actual productivity has always been a pain point and difficulty faced by scientific and technological innovation and industrial development. In the view of Guo Liyan, Deputy Director and Researcher of the Economic Research Institute of the China Macroeconomic Research Institute, improving the market access system with the aim of accelerating the formation of new quality productivity is a practical measure aimed at this pain point. It can maximize the relaxation and resolution of the constraints on the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, thereby helping new technologies and products to accelerate research and development, ultimately pass through the "valley of death," and gather and attract more patient capital throughout the process.
Zhang Mingshen, a researcher at the Economic Research Institute of the China Macroeconomic Research Institute, believes that the "Opinions" select frontier fields and key disciplines such as electronic information, computational science, deep sea, aerospace, new energy, new materials, biomedicine, quantum technology, and modern seed industry. For the first time, it proposes to establish a global frontier scientific research collaboration model, which includes the organic collaboration between key enterprises, research institutions, and other innovation units and relevant places, as well as participation in the formulation of international market access rules and standards. This is not only conducive to China's initiative and discourse in the market access of new business forms and fields but also creates conditions for China to carry out international scientific research cooperation based on large scientific facilities and other innovative infrastructure, as well as the global technology transfer network.
Optimize the Collaboration of Innovative Resources
The key to solving the "two skins" problem between science and technology and the economy lies in optimizing the mechanism for the transformation of innovation achievements and clearing the access barriers between innovation achievements and the industrial system. In this regard, the "Opinions" propose to make good use of advanced technology application promotion centers and various innovation platforms for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, to unblock the industrial system, innovative resources, capital elements, application scenarios, and institutional policies, and to accelerate the development of new quality productivity according to local conditions.In October 2023, EHang Intelligent Holding Limited, a company focused on urban air mobility, received the world's first unmanned electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft type certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Over two months later, the EH216-S unmanned passenger aircraft independently developed by the company completed its global commercial first flight demonstration at Luogang Park in Hefei, Anhui.
In recent years, cities across the country have been competing to develop a low-altitude economy, with a continuous stream of experimental products. How to solve the problem of "nowhere to fly"? Scene opening is an important way to facilitate the transformation of technology. To create application scenarios for new business formats and fields such as unmanned delivery and urban three-dimensional transportation, and to promote the transformation of results, the International Advanced Technology Application Promotion Center (Hefei), in conjunction with relevant parties, has completed the Luogang Park full-space unmanned system application demonstration project, which is also the country's first full-space unmanned system application project.
During the construction of the 12.7 square kilometer park project, Hefei has applied cutting-edge scientific and technological achievements to "construction, management, and tourism," forming multiple scenarios with leading, symbolic, and innovative characteristics, driving technological iteration and industrial upgrading. From IoT perception to intelligent charging, from unmanned equipment to virtual reality, Hefei Luogang Park has deployed more than 150 new technologies and products, carrying more than 50 small application scenarios, allowing new materials, new processes, and new technologies to be fully utilized and prioritized.
"To turn scientific and technological achievements into real productive forces, it is necessary to cross the 'gray area' of identifying business opportunities and the applicability of related concepts, the 'river of demons' from laboratory samples to commercial trials, the 'valley of death' after entering small-scale production or pilot testing, and the 'Darwinian sea' of survival of the fittest in the marketization stage," said Zhang Mingshen. In the short term, without market access, even the best scientific and technological achievements cannot be commercialized; in the long term, a well-established market access system will open the floodgates of a new round of innovation competition, providing strong market traction for the emergence of high-quality scientific and technological achievements, and injecting strong internal momentum into the deep integration of innovation chains, industrial chains, capital chains, and talent chains.
Li Chunlin said that at present, the International Advanced Technology Application Promotion Centers in Shanghai Pudong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and other places are also accelerating construction. The National Development and Reform Commission will focus on the implementation and implementation of these key tasks, while providing experience and setting an example for the transformation and application of results in other frontier fields.
Participate in the formulation of industry standards
The "Opinions" propose to promote key enterprises, research institutions, and other innovative units and relevant localities to establish a frontier scientific research collaboration model in related fields, actively participate in the formulation of international market access rules and standards, and promote the convenient and efficient application of innovative results in key areas. "This is of great significance for strengthening the strategic layout of frontier fields, enhancing the ability to allocate global advanced and high-quality production factors, and leading the formulation of rules and standards for new business formats and fields," said Li Chunlin.
In terms of autonomous driving vehicles, Guangzhou is drafting the "Guangzhou Intelligent Connected Vehicle Innovation and Development Regulations (Draft for Modification & Solicitation of Opinions)," which explicitly proposes to support the innovative application of intelligent connected vehicles on highways, airports, ports, stations, and other trunk lines and transportation hubs, providing a policy basis for the market access of autonomous driving vehicles. It is understood that the regulations also define the concept of intelligent connected vehicles, including three types: conditional autonomous driving, high-level autonomous driving, and full autonomous driving, providing a clear scope for the formulation of market access standards.
Wang Shancheng, Director of the System Reform Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, introduced that since 2021, the National Development and Reform Commission has selected Hainan, Shenzhen, Hengqin Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone, Guangzhou Nansha, and other regions to effectively relax the market access thresholds in the fields of data property rights, aerospace, etc., effectively stimulating the vitality of business entities, promoting the convenient flow of various production factors, and achieving significant results.
In terms of public data collection management, sharing and opening, and development and utilization, Hainan Province has introduced more than 20 data product rule systems covering the entire life cycle, including data pricing, rights confirmation, and development and utilization. It has taken the lead in carrying out the national data product ownership rights confirmation registration work, issued the country's first data product rights confirmation registration implementation details, and issued rights confirmation registration certificates for hundreds of data products in Hainan. The person in charge of the Hainan Provincial Development and Reform Commission introduced that the province's data infrastructure capabilities have been replicated and promoted to many cities outside the province.As a significant force in promoting the development of new business forms and fields, the role of industry organizations in setting market access standards and rules cannot be overlooked. Experts suggest that industry organizations should be encouraged to provide support for access regulation in areas such as standard systems, certification and accreditation, service quality, energy conservation and environmental protection, and safety and hygiene. This would facilitate faster development in new business forms and fields.