Shanghai will become a comprehensive science center within three years by implementing systematic innovation reforms. The decision was reached by authorities on March 30 during an executive meeting of the State Council presided over by Premier Li Keqiang.

The State Council and China Cabinet decided at the meeting that Shanghai will enjoy more flexible policies in research funding, the transfer of scientific research findings and collaboration between universities and local enterprises. Companies' innovation activities will also face fewer local government hurdles.

According to the meeting, Shanghai will systematically promote reform and innovation experiments within three years. It will set up a comprehensive national science center, explore some new financial service modes, including startup and innovation preferential policies and coordination of investments and loans, equity trust trading markets, research and development organization of new-style industrial technology and streamline foreign investment procedures.

Additionally, the State Council agreed to:

-Improve stock option incentives and revenue distribution policies to enable entrepreneurs to decide where to allocate research funding and how to transfer scientific research findings into business.

-Change the previous resource allocation policies and provide more flexible policies for science-oriented universities and academies to boost collaborative innovation with local enterprises.

-Drive entrepreneurship and employment through innovation, build a mass entrepreneurship and mass innovation platform, and transfer achievements in innovation into productivity.

-Improve inspection systems and deepen the reform in commercial registration systems to ensure companies' innovation activities will face fewer local government hurdles.

In 2014, 83.1 billion yuan ($12.82 billion) was allocated to research and development in Shanghai, accounting for 3.6 percent of its GDP. In May last year, the city approved a plan to establish itself as a technological innovation center. 

New independent districts for innovation will be established in Central, East and Northeast China, in an effort to boost innovation-driven development and supply-side economic reform.

The three regions involved are Henan province (Zhengzhou, Luoyang and Xinxiang), the Shandong Peninsula and Liaoning province (Shenyang and Dalian).