Strengthen the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee for scientific and technological work, and establish the Central Science and Technology Committee. The responsibility of the Central Science and Technology Committee's administrative body is assumed by the reorganized Ministry of Science and Technology as a whole.

On the morning of March 10, the first meeting of the 14th National People's Congress voted and passed the decision on the institutional reform plan of the State Council, and approved the institutional reform plan of the State Council including the reorganization of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

This is the second reorganization of the Ministry of Science and Technology within five years since its reorganization in 2018.

On March 7, 2023, at the first meeting of the 14th National People's Congress, State Councilor and Secretary-General of the State Council Xiao Jie explained to the General Assembly the State Council's institutional reform plan, disclosing the plan to reorganize the Ministry of Science and Technology: Formation The Central Science and Technology Commission and the responsibility of the Central Science and Technology Commission's administrative body are assumed by the reorganized Ministry of Science and Technology as a whole. Transfer the specific management responsibilities of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Adjust the Ministry of Science and Technology's responsibilities for the coordination and management of central financial science and technology plans (special projects, funds, etc.), and the coordination and evaluation of scientific research project funds.

This Ministry of Science and Technology reorganization plan has attracted people's attention.

Some experts said that the reorganization of the Ministry of Science and Technology shows the government's determination to make drastic reforms and accelerate the realization of self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology. The "slimming" Ministry of Science and Technology will focus on the "highest main business" and focus on the "upright" content of scientific and technological work.

How did the Ministry of Science and Technology reorganize twice in five years?

On March 13, 2018, the first meeting of the Thirteenth National People's Congress disclosed the first restructuring plan of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The plan proposes to integrate the responsibilities of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, and re-establish the Ministry of Science and Technology as a component department of the State Council. The Ministry of Science and Technology manages the National Natural Science Foundation of China and retains the brand of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs. Its main responsibilities are to formulate and implement national innovation-driven development strategies, scientific and technological development, and basic research plans and policies; Plan and supervise the implementation of scientific and technological projects, take the lead in establishing a unified national scientific and technological management platform and scientific research project fund coordination, evaluation, and supervision mechanisms, and be responsible for the introduction of foreign intelligence.

Five years later, on March 7, 2023, the first meeting of the 14th National People's Congress disclosed the plan for the second reorganization of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The plan proposes to reorganize the Ministry of Science and Technology. Scientific and technological innovation occupies a core position in the overall situation of my country's modernization drive. Facing the severe situation of international scientific and technological competition and external containment and suppression, it is necessary to further rationalize the scientific and technological leadership and management system, better coordinate scientific and technological forces to overcome difficulties in key core technologies, and accelerate the realization of high-level technological self-reliance and self-reliance. This reform of the party and state institutions strengthens the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee on scientific and technological work, and establishes the Central Science and Technology Committee. In accordance with the spirit of the "Party and State Institutional Reform Plan", strengthen the macro-management responsibilities of the Ministry of Science and Technology such as strategic planning, system reform, resource overall planning, comprehensive coordination, policies and regulations, and supervision and inspection, and promote the improvement of a new national system and optimize the entire chain management of scientific and technological innovation , Promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and promote the combination of science and technology and economic and social development.

Transfer the specific management responsibilities of the Ministry of Science and Technology. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs assigned the responsibility of organizing the formulation of science and technology to promote agricultural and rural development plans and policies, and guiding rural scientific and technological progress. The National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the National Health Commission are responsible for organizing the formulation of science and technology to promote social development plans and policies. The duties of organizing the formulation of high-tech development and industrialization plans and policies, guiding the construction of science and technology parks such as national independent innovation demonstration zones and national high-tech industrial development zones, and guiding the development of science and technology service industries, technology markets, and technology intermediary organizations are assigned to industry and information technology. Department of Chemistry. Assign responsibility for the introduction of foreign intelligence to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and add the brand of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. The Ministry of Science and Technology no longer retains the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs brand.

Deepen the reform of the allocation and use mechanism of fiscal science and technology funds, improve the implementation of central fiscal science and technology plans and the management system of professional institutions, and adjust the coordination and management of central fiscal science and technology plans (special projects, funds, etc.) of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the coordination and evaluation of scientific research project funds. The reorganized Ministry of Science and Technology no longer participates in the review and management of specific scientific research projects . It is mainly responsible for guiding and supervising the operation and management of professional scientific research management institutions, strengthening the supervision and inspection of the implementation of scientific research projects and the evaluation of scientific research results. Correspondingly, the China Rural Technology Development Center affiliated to the Ministry of Science and Technology was assigned to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs , the China Biotechnology Development Center was assigned to the National Health Commission , the China Agenda 21 Management Center, and the High-Tech Research and Development Center of the Ministry of Science and Technology were assigned to the National Natural Science Foundation of China committee. The National Natural Science Foundation of China is still managed by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

As the office of the Central Science and Technology Commission: the decision-making level is improved

Experts in the industry generally believe that the establishment of the Central Science and Technology Committee is a manifestation of the Party Central Committee's greater emphasis on scientific and technological work. As the administrative body of the Central Science and Technology Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology has further improved its decision-making level, which is conducive to coordinating the forces of all parties involved in technological innovation and promoting the improvement of a new nationwide system.

On September 6, 2022, the 27th meeting of the Central Comprehensive Deepening Reform Committee was held, and the "Opinions on Improving the New National System for Key Core Technology Research under the Conditions of a Socialist Market Economy" was reviewed and approved. The meeting pointed out that to improve the new national system for tackling key core technologies, it is necessary to organically combine the government, the market, and society, scientifically coordinate, concentrate efforts, optimize mechanisms, and coordinate tackling key problems. It is necessary to strengthen strategic planning and system layout, adhere to the orientation of national strategic goals, aim at a number of key areas and major tasks related to my country's industry, economy and national security, clarify the main direction of attack and core technology breakthroughs, and focus on research and development of key technologies and technologies with first-mover advantages. The basic cutting-edge technology leading the future development. It is necessary to strengthen the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee and establish an authoritative decision-making command system. It is necessary to build an organizational and operating mechanism for collaborative research, efficiently allocate scientific and technological forces and innovation resources, strengthen cross-field and interdisciplinary collaborative research, and form a strong joint force for key core technology research. It is necessary to promote a better combination of an effective market and a promising government, strengthen the dominant position of enterprises in technological innovation, accelerate the transformation of government science and technology management functions, create a good innovation ecology, and stimulate the vitality of innovation subjects.

Liu Yidong, a researcher at the Institute of Natural Science History of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a doctoral supervisor, and director of the Science and Technology and Society Research Center, told The Paper that the reorganization of the Ministry of Science and Technology shows the government's determination to make drastic reforms and accelerate the realization of self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology. China's scientific and technological development has gone through the intermediate stage of introduction, absorption, tracking and follow-up, and is now leaping to the advanced stage of original innovation and self -reliance. The difficulty of scientific research has suddenly increased. If the scientific research difficulty of introduction and absorption is 1, then the scientific research difficulty of original innovation is 100, 200 , or even higher. Coupled with the severe international competition environment, the original scientific research system is no longer competent. The reorganization of the Ministry of Science and Technology is to focus on the national strategic needs, deepen the reform of the science and technology system, create an excellent scientific research system, solve the "stuck neck" problem, and achieve self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology.

Liu Yidong said that the "stuck neck" is divided into two situations: current and future: to solve the current "stuck neck" problem, such as the development of high-level lithography machines, China has the successful experience of "two bombs and one star"; to solve the future "stuck neck" problem " question is more challenging. Only by creating an excellent scientific research system centered on first-class talents, competing and winning at the forefront of global science and technology, and making original innovations with sufficient quantity and reasonable distribution, can we achieve high-level technological self-reliance and self-reliance by avoiding being "stuck in the neck" in the future.

Liu Yidong said that the Central Science and Technology Commission and the reorganized Ministry of Science and Technology can comprehensively coordinate national strategic scientific research forces, optimize the allocation of innovation resources, and greatly enhance the systematic ability of scientific and technological research.

Zhou Chengxiong, a researcher at the Institute of Science and Technology Strategy Consulting of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, wrote an article stating that a central decision-making committee has been established for scientific and technological affairs in parallel with the Central Committee for Comprehensively Deepening Reform, the Central National Security Committee, the Central Network Security and Informatization Committee, the Central Finance and Economics Committee, and the Central Foreign Affairs Working Committee. And the discussion and coordination organization, not only shows that my country's scientific and technological innovation work has become one of the key tasks directly led by the Party Central Committee, but also shows the complexity and arduousness of scientific and technological innovation work. With the improvement of the level of decision-making institutions, the top-level design in terms of scientific and technological innovation will be effectively strengthened, which is conducive to comprehensively coordinating the forces of all parties and promoting the improvement of the new national system.

Transferring some management responsibilities, streamlining the organization, and not reviewing specific projects

The reorganization plan proposes that some of the specific management responsibilities of the Ministry of Science and Technology are assigned to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the National Health Commission, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

In this regard, Li Xia, a professor at the Institute of History of Science and Culture of Shanghai Jiaotong University, told The Paper that there are so many things to do, it is easy to delay the main business. As a functional department of the government, the " highest main business " of the Ministry of Science and Technology is to provide the country with science and technology strategies and policies, and to navigate, guide, supervise, manage and coordinate China's science and technology community from a macro perspective. The relevant strategies, plans and directions must be forward-looking and high-level, and the roadmap must be clear. Such a science and technology strategy or plan is very systematic and technical, and cannot be written in a hurry by inviting a group of experts temporarily.

Li Xia said that, for example, one of the most important sources of US science and technology policy - the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), it does not care about the transformation of achievements, regardless of money, it is only responsible for the forward-looking development of the entire science and technology and the various aspects of the government. Departmental coordination. "Technology transformation can return to the market."

On the afternoon of November 24, 2021, the 22nd meeting of the Central Comprehensive Deepening Reform Committee was held, and the "Three-Year Plan for the Reform of the Science and Technology System (2021-2023)" was reviewed and approved. The meeting emphasized that "it is necessary to accelerate the transformation of the government's scientific and technological management functions with greater courage, and adhere to the orientation of focusing on strategy, reform, planning, and service."

According to the official website of the Ministry of Science and Technology, it is a component department of the State Council. Its main responsibilities include formulating national innovation-driven development strategies and technological development; coordinating the promotion of national innovation system construction and technological system reform.

Zhou Chengxiong wrote that the reorganized Ministry of Science and Technology retains the construction of the national technology transfer system, the transfer and transformation of scientific and technological achievements and the combination of industry, learning and research, the construction of a regional scientific and technological innovation system, the construction of a scientific and technological supervision and evaluation system, the construction of scientific research integrity, international scientific and technological cooperation, and the scientific and technological talent team. Construction, national science and technology awards and other related responsibilities. These tasks are highly comprehensive, involve many departments, are complex and have a long accumulation period. After the reorganization, the Ministry of Science and Technology will serve as the administrative body of the Central Science and Technology Committee, and the coordination force will be significantly strengthened, and the environment for technological innovation will be significantly optimized.

In addition, the reorganization plan proposes that the reorganized Ministry of Science and Technology will no longer participate in the review and management of specific scientific research projects , but will be mainly responsible for guiding and supervising the operation and management of professional scientific research management institutions, strengthening the supervision and inspection of the implementation of scientific research projects and the evaluation of scientific research results.

Liu Yidong said that the Ministry of Science and Technology no longer participates in the review and management of specific scientific research projects, which can avoid being both a team leader and a referee , which will help it to conduct a strict evaluation of the implementation and effectiveness of scientific research projects and scientific and technological planning in a fair and objective manner. It will be more powerful to promote the situation of "high standards, the best win" and promote the high-quality development of China's science and technology.

At the same time, Liu Yidong said that the Ministry of Science and Technology has strengthened the supervision of the implementation of scientific research projects and strictly checked and accepted them, which can promote the situation of "high standards, the best win out"; out".

In addition, some experts said that the reorganized Ministry of Science and Technology, on the basis of "slimming down", still manages the National Natural Science Foundation of China, retains the responsibilities of national basic research and applied basic research, national laboratory construction, and major national science and technology projects. It will focus more on basic research and focus on source innovation.

Zhou Chengxiong wrote that the future national science and technology management department will mainly focus on the "indomitable" content of scientific and technological work. The so-called "Dingtian" refers to the construction of national laboratories, major national science and technology projects and other responsibilities. The goals of these responsibilities are to strengthen the country's strategic scientific and technological strength, strengthen key core technology research, and break foreign technology blockades. The so-called "site" refers to the responsibilities of national basic research and applied basic research. A considerable part of a country's basic research depends on government investment and guidance. To strengthen and focus on basic research is to consolidate and solidify the foundation of my country's scientific and technological innovation and economic and social development. Scientific and technological innovation work other than "upholding the sky" can be managed by relevant functional departments or let the market mechanism play a role, which can be closer to actual needs and more efficient. The above-mentioned reform measures conform to the law of technological development, and make the functions of the science and technology management department clearer and more focused, which will better reflect the will of the country and give full play to the advantages of the new nationwide system.