Only Way for Sci-Tech Structural Reform (By Our Commentator) 　　Following are excerpts of this commentary. Recently, the State Council approved the reform plan of the 242 scientific research institutes affiliated to 10 state bureaus under the management of the State Economic and Trade Commission, deciding to promote the structural transformation of scientific research institutes into enterprise management centered on accelerating the industrialization of science and technology. This represents a major breakthrough in deepening China's scientific and technological structural reform, as well as an important move in implementing the strategy for developing China through science and education and strengthening construction of the country's innovation system. 　　The transformation of scientific research institutes into enterprise management is a correct expression of Deng Xiaoping Theory and the essence of the Party's 15th National Congress. 　　Practice proves that promoting the entry of most scientific research institutes into the market, the transformation of them into scientific and technological enterprises or steering them into enterprises represent the fundamental way of solving the problem of integrating science and technology with economy in regard to system and mechanism, and a concrete implementation of the essence of the Party's 15th National Congress. The transformation of scientific research institutes into enterprise management is the inevitable requirement for the establishment of a technical innovation system with enterprises as the mainstay and for enhancing China's industrial innovative and competitive capabilities and accelerating the development of new technological industries. 　　After a dozen years of reform efforts, the market-oriented vigor of scientific research institutes has greatly strengthened, and significant progress has been made in commercializing and industrializing the scientific achievements. However, the irrational situation in the sci-tech structure has not been fundamentally changed. Enterprise has not yet become the main force of technological innovation. Under the present situation featuring the rise of economic globalization and the knowledge economy, market competition with sci-tech as the leading factor has become increasingly intense, this inevitably requires significantly enhancing enterprises' technological innovative capability, promoting the upgrading of industrial technology and optimization of structure by relying on accelerated technological progress. The key to achieving the above-mentioned goal lies in the establishment of a technological innovation system with enterprises as the mainstay. 　　In light of China's national condition, on the one hand, it is necessary to constantly enhance the enterprise's technological innovative capacity; on the other hand, it is essential to encourage a group of scientific research institutes to enter enterprises or integrate themselves with enterprises in various forms, at the same time, it is all the more necessary for large numbers of scientific research institutes to completely change into sci-tech enterprises, particularly high-tech ones, so that they will gradually become the main force in the development of China's high-tech industries. 　　This reform measure will accelerate the formation of a technological innovation system with enterprises as the mainstay, it will play a positive and promotional role in upgrading China's industrial technology as a whole and optimizing the structure and in improving the industry's innovative and competitive capabilities. 　　 Opinion 1999-05-27 Page5 Full Story in Chinese