Public and Private Collaboration on Plant Biotechnology in China

Abstract

Public private collaboration in plant biotechnology is unusual in China because the private sector plays a very small role in the Chinese agricultural input industry. There are few public private collaborations and also some examples of collaboration between state-owned research institutes and state-owned commercial enterprises. Both types of collaborations are likely to grow in the future - particularly if the government allows private firms to play a larger role in the input industries, intellectual property rights on biotechnology are strengthened, and regulations on biotechnology are rationalized.