It was learned on May 13 that in recent years, Beijing has implemented concrete measures to innovate its model for supporting basic research, accelerating the formation of a diversified investment landscape. Through platform development and institutional improvements, the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission and the Administrative Committee of Zhongguancun Science Park have established a "Beijing Model" for joint funds, characterized by partnerships such as "Municipal Fund - District Government - Enterprise" and "Municipal Fund - Public Welfare Foundation." This initiative has pioneered a new path nationwide for government and market collaboration to promote high-level technological self-reliance and self-strengthening, effectively achieving seamless integration between the innovation chain and the industrial chain.
On March 29, a signing ceremony for the Beijing Natural Science Foundation Joint Fund was held during a major achievements session at the 2026 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference.
Focus 1: Driving Over 70 Enterprises and Public Welfare Foundations to Invest in Basic Research Beijing has established the earliest, most extensive, and highest externally funded joint fund among provincial-level regions in China. Since 2016, the Beijing Natural Science Foundation has adopted a tripartite cooperation model of "Municipal Fund - District Government - Enterprise," co-establishing municipal joint funds with relevant districts and enterprises through proportional contributions. This has attracted leading technology companies such as Li Auto, Baiyang Pharmaceutical, Lenovo Group, and United Imaging Healthcare to participate. To date, this effort has mobilized 10 districts, over 70 enterprises, and public welfare foundations to invest in basic research, leveraging more than 700 million yuan in external funding. It has consolidated over 2,300 technical project listings and supported nearly 2,000 research teams.
Under the guidance of the joint funds, participating enterprises and funded teams have established deep cooperative relationships through various models such as proof-of-concept validation, pilot-scale transformation, and equity investments. This has led to over 400 teams forming substantial partnerships, the co-construction of more than 60 joint R&D platforms, and the incubation of over 10 technology innovation enterprises.
Focus 2: Joint Funds Promote Deep Integration of Basic Research and Industrial Application Liu De, Co-founder and Senior Vice President of Xiaomi Group and Chairman of the Xiaomi Foundation, stated that in 2022, the Beijing Xiaomi Foundation donated 500 million yuan (50 million yuan annually over 10 years) to the municipal fund to establish the "Beijing Natural Science Foundation - Xiaomi Innovation Joint Fund." This fund focuses on supporting basic and applied basic research in fields such as artificial intelligence, smart vehicles, and robotics, setting a precedent in China for public welfare foundations donating to natural science funds.
Li Auto, in collaboration with the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission, the Administrative Committee of Zhongguancun Science Park, and the Shunyi District Government, initiated the "Beijing Natural Science Foundation - Shunyi New Energy Intelligent Connected Vehicle Innovation Joint Fund," with an annual funding scale of 50 million yuan. Li Guanhua, Senior Vice President of Li Auto, explained that the company focuses on funding basic research in the field of new energy intelligent connected vehicles, attracting top scientific talent to participate in research. This promotes substantive cooperation among multiple parties in data resources, experimental platforms, and talent cultivation, providing theoretical and technical support for breakthroughs in industry common technologies and the company's innovative development.
From 2024 to 2025, Li Auto proposed 56 research topics in areas such as electric power, robotics, AI training and inference, and chips, successfully funding 63 teams from top-tier research universities like Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Beihang University, as well as research institutes. In funded projects, over 70% of the funding was allocated to directions such as large models, embodied intelligence, and smart chips, supporting the company's frontier technology reserves and talent recruitment. This provides support for Li Auto's vision of "becoming a globally leading embodied intelligence enterprise."
Baiyang Pharmaceutical Group is a health industry group driven by technological innovation. In Mentougou District, it has built a cardiovascular disease research achievement transformation industrial cluster—"China Heart Valley"—centered around the National Key Laboratory for Cardiovascular Diseases, aiming to incubate innovative cardiovascular drugs and devices with global intellectual property rights.
On March 29 of this year, a centralized signing ceremony for the Beijing Natural Science Foundation Joint Fund was held during the major achievements session of the 2026 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference. Baiyang Pharmaceutical, in collaboration with the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission, the Administrative Committee of Zhongguancun Science Park, and the Mentougou District Government, established the "Beijing Natural Science Foundation - Baiyang Pharmaceutical Innovation Joint Fund," with an annual scale of 50 million yuan. The parties will work together to promote the deep integration of basic research and industrial application, accelerating the transformation of high-quality research achievements.
"Our original intention in participating in the establishment of the joint fund is to promote the deep integration of basic research and industrial application in cutting-edge fields such as innovative cardiovascular drugs, cancer treatment, and organ-on-a-chip technology, accelerating the clinical transformation of research achievements," said Li Lihua, Vice President of Scientific Research Management at Baiyang Pharmaceutical Group.
The Beijing Natural Science Foundation is an important funding channel for basic research in Beijing. The joint fund operates under the model of "enterprises posing questions, the government building the platform, and scientists providing answers." According to Li Lihua, Baiyang Pharmaceutical, based on the industrial end, delves into clinical scenarios to identify unmet medical needs and proposes research topics around key issues in clinical transformation and industrial development. The Beijing Natural Science Foundation organizes project applications and reviews uniformly, precisely translating industrial technological needs into project guidelines open to society and building an open, collaborative innovation platform. Mentougou District provides spatial support, policy incentives, and supporting services to promote the deep integration of innovative research with the regional industrial ecosystem.
In the future, Baiyang Pharmaceutical will leverage the joint fund platform to strengthen the collaborative innovation mechanism involving government, industry, academia, research, medical institutions, and end-users, accelerating the clinical application of more original innovations with independent intellectual property rights.
Focus 3: Guiding Enterprises to Increase Basic Research Deployment, 85 Enterprises Enjoy Tax Incentive Policies The Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission and the Administrative Committee of Zhongguancun Science Park have leveraged Zhongguancun's role as a "testing ground" for reform to guide enterprises in increasing their basic research deployment. They have promoted the implementation and nationwide expansion of the "Tax Incentive Policy for Enterprise Contributions to Basic Research." Under this policy, enterprise expenditures contributed to non-profit scientific and technological R&D institutions, higher education institutions, and government natural science funds for basic research can be deducted before tax based on the actual amount incurred and are eligible for a 100% additional pre-tax deduction.
Since 2022, Beijing has supported 85 enterprises in benefiting from this policy, with total contributions exceeding 3.1 billion yuan. By 2025, the number of covered enterprises and the total contribution amount increased by 328% and 196%, respectively, compared to 2022. This has effectively alleviated the burden of basic research on enterprises, stimulated their endogenous motivation to invest in basic research, encouraged increased deployment in this area, and provided "Beijing experience" for the nationwide promotion of the policy.
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