SOEs to take lead in national innovation initiatives

State-owned enterprises will prioritize high-quality development, technological innovation and strategic industrial upgrades during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period to better serve the national economy and ensure supply chain resilience, said officials from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

Pang Xiaogang, vice-chairman of SASAC, said centrally administered SOEs will take the lead in national technological initiatives to cultivate advanced productive forces and achieve high-level self-reliance.

Pang said the commission is deepening structural reforms to resolve underlying development bottlenecks, focusing on establishing modern corporate governance and improving supervision mechanisms. Instead of adopting one-size-fits-all approaches, Pang said the reforms will implement targeted, differentiated policies to optimize State capital layout, directing resources toward vital sectors concerning national security, public services and forward-looking industries.

The development blueprint for the next five years shifts the focus from scale-oriented metrics, such as gross revenue, toward genuine value creation, said Dai Xi, director of SASAC's bureau of planning and development.

He said the plan sets targets for economic value added and brand value, guiding enterprises to enhance their actual contributions to the economy.

Dai added that this vision is supported by a rigorous execution mechanism, which includes 80 key industrial indicators and 106 specific action plans to ensure these strategic goals are translated into measurable results.

Despite global economic complexities, central SOEs have maintained steady growth, with total added value reaching 7.2 trillion yuan ($1.07 trillion) and profits hitting 1.8 trillion yuan in the first eight months, said Wang Shaofei, director of SASAC's bureau of property right management.

Wang said these enterprises have improved their operational efficiency by deliberately cutting back on low-margin trade businesses to focus on core operations.

Furthermore, they are maintaining strategic patience by heavily investing in research and development, which exceeded 591 billion yuan during the same period, alongside a 1.2 trillion yuan investment in strategic emerging industries. Moving into the fourth quarter, Wang said SOEs will continue to optimize asset structures, curb excessive internal competition to maintain fair markets, and strictly manage debt and investment risks.

To bridge the gap between research and market application, SASAC has formulated a dedicated technological innovation plan, said Zhang Jianlong, director of SASAC's bureau of scientific and technological innovation. He pointed out that central SOEs are committed to maintaining an annual R&D expenditure growth rate of over 7 percent, with a specific focus on directing more than 15 percent of these funds into basic research to overcome critical technological bottlenecks.

Zhang also highlighted the importance of collaborative innovation, noting that SOEs will work closely with universities, research institutes and private enterprises to share pilot platforms and accelerate the transformation of scientific achievements into real-world productivity.

Zhang said these enterprises also leverage their technological advantages to secure the nation's power and energy supplies amid market fluctuations, while actively participating in rural vitalization and green transition initiatives.