The following document, issued by the predecessor office of China’s State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) in 2007, lays down general guidance for private companies that wish to participate in the PRC defense S&T industry.
The Chinese source text is available online at: https://web.archive.org/web/20201118182944/http://www.gov.cn/ztzl/kjfzgh/content_883645.htm
To the Commissions (Offices) of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense of all provinces, autonomous regions and province-level municipalities, and all defense industry group companies and units under the administration of said Commissions:
Since the beginning of reform and opening up [in 1978], China’s individual (个体) sector, private (私营) sector and other non-publicly owned sectors (非公有制经济) have developed and expanded continuously, and have become an important component part of the socialist market economy and an important force for advancing the development of social productive forces (社会生产力). The participation of the non-publicly owned sector in national defense science, technology and industry construction is beneficial in terms of promoting development and fostering competition, and taking better advantage of the market’s fundamental role in allocating resources. It helps promote technical progress, strengthens independent innovation (自主创新) capabilities, and raises the capacity and level of weapons and equipment development and production. It helps promote institutional and mechanism innovation in national defense science, technology and industry, and has important significance for accelerating the establishment of a great system of socialized collaboration (社会化大协作体系) in national defense science, technology and industry.
In order to put into practice the spirit of the document Certain Opinions of the State Council on Encouraging, Supporting and Channeling the Development of Individual and Private Sectors and Other Non-Publicly Owned Sectors ([2005] No. 3), and to encourage, support and channel participation by the non-publicly owned sector in national defense science, technology and industry construction, we hereby put forward the following opinions: