Deputies from Shaanxi province to the National People's Congress have called for strengthening the role of enterprises as key drivers of innovation and deepening collaboration with local universities to advance the province's science and technology industries.

During a group discussion of the Shaanxi delegation at the third session of the 14th NPC, Zhao Yide, an NPC deputy and secretary of the Communist Party of China's Shaanxi provincial committee, said the province has made significant progress in reforming education, science and technology, talent development and the integration of science, industry and finance.

Zhao said Shaanxi is focusing on breakthroughs in key core technologies and addressing "bottleneck" challenges while coordinating scientific research with the application of technological achievements.

"In the past two years, we have solved more than 1,000 technical problems of various types, contributing to national major science and technology projects and strengthening industrial and supply chain security," he said.

Shaanxi is prioritizing enterprises as the primary force behind innovation, Zhao said.

"Enterprises are both the main demanders and suppliers of innovation. We are focused on empowering innovative businesses," he said.

Over the past three years, the number of small and medium-sized high-tech enterprises in the province has grown by an average of 30 percent annually, respectively, according to the provincial government.

Officials said the province will continue leveraging education, science and technology, and talent to develop new quality productive forces suited to local conditions.

During the discussion, Zhang Xiushe, director of the 20th research institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, called for a nationally unified implementation plan for enterprise-oriented management reform of scientific research institutions.

He proposed allowing research institutions to adopt more flexible management systems than general public institutions and explore enterprise-style management models.

"We should grant researchers greater autonomy in distributing benefits from the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements and establish a strategic management system for intellectual property assets," Zhang said.

Xu Liping, a worker at the Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology, said aerospace technology, representing advanced manufacturing and new quality productive forces, should drive the transformation of the manufacturing sector toward high-end, intelligent and green development.

He suggested creating a joint training and cooperation mechanism between universities, vocational colleges and aerospace enterprises to develop talent programs, including curriculum design and experimental base construction.

Xu also proposed establishing a multi-dimensional skills training system to enhance the capabilities of skilled workers in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, intelligent manufacturing and digital twins.

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