National CPPCC Member Yang Liu: The Government Should Be a Pacer, Investor, and User for Tech Enterprises

South Financials National Two Sessions Report Team Tang Jing Feng Zitong

Technological independence and strength are the foundation of a nation’s prosperity, and finance is the “fuel tank” for technological innovation as well as the “accelerator” for industrial upgrading. During the 2026 National Two Sessions, how finance can better support technological innovation has become a hot topic among delegates and committee members.

On the evening of March 10th, Yang Liu, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Management Committee of Tianjin Binhai High-tech Zone, shared her practical experience in the field of science and technology finance, especially in leasing and commercial factoring, during an exclusive interview with the South Financials National Two Sessions reporting team.

She pointed out that leasing is highly suitable for supporting high-tech products due to its asset management and full lifecycle service capabilities; meanwhile, in the development process of tech companies, the government should play the roles of “supporter, investor, and user,” offering more tolerance and patience for early-stage startups.

Tianjin’s leasing assets exceed 2.3 trillion yuan, with potential to serve emerging industries

21st Century Business Herald: Could you share some of Tianjin’s locally distinctive practices in science and technology finance?

Yang Liu: In science and technology finance, I believe Tianjin’s most characteristic areas are leasing and commercial factoring, especially leasing. Currently, Tianjin’s leasing assets have surpassed 2.3 trillion yuan, mainly concentrated in aircraft, ships, large equipment, including wind turbines and solar cells. But in the future, leasing can fully serve the tech sector, such as power batteries, computing hardware, aerospace equipment, robots, and other new technological products, which can all be leasing targets.

Leasing is an excellent form of science and technology finance. Many high-tech products have unstable prices and rapidly evolving performance and features, so purchasing these assets may face short-term depreciation risks. Through leasing, leasing companies hold the assets themselves, absorbing future value changes, and companies are essentially buying a service. Additionally, leasing companies have strong asset management capabilities, especially in full lifecycle management. Many devices require continuous upgrades, and leasing companies, as asset managers, have channels to refurbish or upgrade these high-tech products.

21st Century Business Herald: How should financial institutions, government, enterprises, and research centers collaborate to turn scientific results from labs into production lines? What are the unique layouts and advantages of the High-tech Zone?

Yang Liu: Tianjin Binhai High-tech Zone has many new R&D institutions. For example, leveraging Tianjin University’s strengths in brain-machine interfaces, we have the Brain-Machine Haihe Laboratory; relying on the Blood Research Institute’s expertise in cell gene therapy, we have the Cell Haihe Laboratory. These research institutions and universities’ key disciplines cultivate talents and produce results that are crucial for developing emerging industries in the region.

The High-tech Zone focuses on cooperation with these institutions, supported by both university backing and local government—funding, space, and industrial support. The development of an industry not only requires scientific achievements but also the participation of large local enterprises to develop products and business models, enabling more consumers and organizations to purchase and use them, iterating through use, expanding application scope, and reducing costs.

Over the past 30 years, the High-tech Zone has been doing this. Some future industries from 30 years ago have now become pillar industries.

Be more tolerant of scientists’ entrepreneurship; government should be the first to “try the crab”

21st Century Business Herald: For future industries like brain-machine interfaces and intelligent biological manufacturing, which are still in early development stages, how does government support differ from traditional industries?

Yang Liu: For these emerging and future industries, the government should play three roles.

The first is as a supporter. Today’s entrepreneurs are mostly knowledge-driven, translating scientific research into practical applications. The government should assist them from incubation, connecting financing, to expanding application scenarios, understanding their needs and difficulties during the process, helping them overcome hurdles, and transforming from scientists to entrepreneurs. Meanwhile, in the process of support, the government can also identify its service gaps and optimize continuously.

The second is as an investor. Besides market-based funds, the government also plays a crucial role in investment. In the High-tech Zone, we have a “first investment then equity” policy, supporting very early-stage startups even before angel investment. If the project is successfully incubated, support is converted into investment based on the valuation at the first financing round. The High-tech Zone has 15 funds with a total scale of 26 billion yuan, having invested in 65 projects, with successes like Sugon and CETC Lantian, and after capital recovery, funds are reinvested into new projects.

The third is as a user, which is very important. Many new products, when first launched, lack not funding but application scenarios. Continuous use is essential; through use, problems are identified, solutions are found, and upgrades are made, giving products vitality. The government should be the first to adopt new technologies, “try the crab,” and work with enterprises to accumulate experience and data.

21st Century Business Herald: You mentioned that government and private equity institutions should be more tolerant of entrepreneurs, and that gambling agreements may not be suitable. How should this tolerance be reflected?

Yang Liu: When communicating with many companies, they appreciate the current entrepreneurial investment environment. Funds are becoming more professional, from angel investments to mergers and acquisitions, with more funds across different scales and fields. However, many companies also mention issues with gambling clauses. Some clauses are very strict; entrepreneurs often underestimate future difficulties and lack funds, signing gambling agreements. But if, due to force majeure or special reasons, an IPO is delayed, the company could lose control over its technology and business.

Gambling clauses are not very friendly to entrepreneurs. In recent years, many underestimated future risks. Now, we need to think about how to set reasonable constraints in these clauses while fully understanding the difficulties entrepreneurs may face. Many founders are scientists, not natural entrepreneurs, and this may be their first startup. If we judge them by the standards of mature companies, we might miss the best development opportunities for some products or delay national progress in certain fields. Therefore, I also call on investors to consider better solutions in this area.

21st Century Business Herald: You mentioned that the government helps select venture capital partners for companies. How do you choose them? Who is qualified to be a “supporter” alongside the government?

Yang Liu: What kind of VC or fund is more helpful to companies? We often communicate with entrepreneurs because government funds also participate in early-stage investments and are investors themselves. We look at their past investment experience, whether they have invested in similar companies; also, their industry background and whether they can provide experience sharing and market expansion beyond funding.

In the High-tech Zone, very few funds are established solely by us; most are co-founded with market-oriented funds or large enterprises. When choosing partners, we consider their past experience, the projects they’ve invested in, and whether they can support companies in application scenarios. Of course, we also evaluate how they support companies and whether they have the patience to support entrepreneurs long-term—what we call patient capital.