Significant plans have been made for technological innovation. This year's Central Economic Work Conference proposed "adhering to innovation-driven development and accelerating the cultivation and expansion of new growth drivers," and emphasized "innovating science and technology financial services."
"The Central Economic Work Conference introduced many new concepts worth noting, such as the construction of three major international science and technology innovation centers, expanding from the original Beijing, Shanghai, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. In addition, it deployed a number of measures to support scientific and technological innovation, demonstrating my country's confidence and determination to accelerate the building of a science and technology powerhouse," said Yin Zhentao, vice president of the Institute of Finance and Economics Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in an interview with the Financial Times.
Technological innovation calls for more long-term and patient financial services.
Among the eight key tasks for economic work in 2026 outlined at the Central Economic Work Conference, "adhering to innovation-driven development and accelerating the cultivation and expansion of new growth drivers" ranks second. Compared to last year's deployment of scientific and technological innovation work, some new changes are worth noting.
Lou Feipeng, a researcher at China Postal Savings Bank, believes that the expansion of the three international science and technology innovation centers from individual cities to regions aims to create global science and technology innovation hubs through regional collaboration, resource concentration, and ecological integration.
Experts generally believe that this means that in the next stage, my country's important strategic resources will be consciously concentrated in these three regions to create a tiered innovation pattern that "drives innovation from key points and radiates across the country."
As can be seen, since the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee proposed to "support Beijing, Shanghai and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to form international science and technology innovation centers", after years of development, the construction of the three international science and technology innovation centers has achieved remarkable results, and each has its own focus.
“The three regions have different focuses on technological innovation: Beijing focuses on basic theoretical innovation; the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area relies on Shenzhen’s hardware capabilities and Guangzhou’s strong foreign trade market, thus possessing strong technology transformation capabilities; the Yangtze River Delta has a rich industrial chain and abundant financial resources, with strong market-driven forces,” said Yin Zhentao.
Another important change is that this year's Central Economic Work Conference emphasized that "improving the intellectual property protection system in emerging fields," "improving the governance of artificial intelligence," and "innovating science and technology financial services" are all aimed at providing a sound institutional and environmental guarantee for scientific and technological innovation.
"It is foreseeable that in the next stage of financial support for technological innovation, policies will focus more on breakthroughs in financial service products and models to address the financing bottlenecks of technology companies," Yin Zhentao analyzed. He believes that the focus of support from banking financial institutions may shift from traditional infrastructure to the construction of technology-based infrastructure, such as financial support for laboratories and innovation platforms, which will inevitably require more long-term and patient financial services.
Large state-owned banks are increasing their support for technological innovation.
Recently, major state-owned banks have been conveying and studying the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference and researching and deploying its implementation. All banks have given priority to financial support for technological innovation.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) stated that it will increase its support for key areas such as expanding domestic demand, technological innovation, and small and micro enterprises. The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) stated that it will innovate and improve its science and technology financial service system, increase lending to advanced manufacturing and the high-quality development of key industrial chains, and help build a modern industrial system and develop new productive forces. The Bank of China (BOC) stated that it will increase its support for developing new productive forces according to local conditions, actively support the intelligent, green, and integrated development of a modern industrial system, and help the comprehensive green and low-carbon transformation of the economy and society and the cultivation of new growth drivers. The China Construction Bank (CCB) stated that it will fully serve the innovation-driven development strategy, leverage the group's collective strength, utilize the integrated advantages of commercial and investment banking, and provide precise and efficient support for the deep integration of technological and industrial innovation, promoting a virtuous cycle of technology, industry, and finance. The Bank of Communications (BOCOM) stated that it will seize the opportunity of the expansion of the international science and technology innovation center, innovate and optimize its financial service model, and increase its support for developing new productive forces and building a modern industrial system according to local conditions. The Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC) stated that it will improve its science and technology financial service system, support the cultivation of new productive forces, and further build a financial service system that meets the needs of technological innovation, coordinated regional development, and green transformation.
"The characteristics of technology companies—'asset-light, high-growth, and highly specialized'—require banks to break through traditional lending models and optimize credit assessment methods. For example, banks can assess companies through 'technology flow' dimensions such as intellectual property and R&D investment, strengthen financial product innovation, and improve industry research capabilities and risk pricing levels," said Lou Feipeng.
In recent years, my country's banking industry has seen rapid growth in credit volume, a gradual enrichment of product types, and an extension of service models to the entire lifecycle in support of technological innovation. As of the end of June this year, the outstanding balance of technology loans at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China exceeded 6 trillion yuan, at the Agricultural Bank of China 4.7 trillion yuan, at the Bank of China 4.59 trillion yuan, and at the China Construction Bank 5.15 trillion yuan.
Transforming from "single financing" to scenario-based and ecosystem-based approaches.
It is worth mentioning that bank credit products are mostly based on traditional collateral and guarantee models, which are fundamentally in conflict with the characteristics of science and technology innovation enterprises that are asset-light, high-growth, and high-risk, resulting in low financing availability.
Currently, the banking industry's support for early-stage science and technology innovation enterprises remains insufficient. It also faces challenges such as product homogenization, a mismatch between risk and return, and incomplete data sharing between banks and governments, industrial parks, and research institutions. This makes it difficult for banks to accurately assess the value of a company's "technology flow," thus impacting financing efficiency.
When asked about the next steps for banking institutions, experts unanimously mentioned "industrial and supply chains".
"Banks need to focus on the industrial and supply chains, because to balance efficiency and risk, they must grasp the key point of 'scenarios,' and most scenarios are located in the industrial and supply chains, thereby gradually forming an ecosystem that connects the capital chain, information chain, and data chain," said Yin Zhentao.
Lou Feipeng believes that the technological innovation industry chain covers R&D, production, and market promotion, with significant differences in funding needs at each stage. Banks need to use tools such as intellectual property pledge loans, project loans, and equity-debt linkage products to cover the financing needs of technology companies from their early to mature stages, addressing the pain point of insufficient collateral for asset-light companies.
"In the future, science and technology financial services need to innovate around the whole cycle, digitalization, and ecosystem, upgrading from 'single financing' to 'financing + intelligence,' providing full life-cycle services for relevant market entities, deepening 'artificial intelligence + finance,' using big data to assess corporate credit and development prospects, linking governments, venture capital, insurance institutions, and other entities to leverage their respective advantages to build a financial service ecosystem, and using policy tools such as science and technology innovation relending to reduce corporate financing costs," said Lou Feipeng.
