A new draft revision to China's Law on Scientific and Technological Progress, proposing additional provisions to boost scientific and technological (sci-tech) innovation, is being considered by lawmakers.

The new draft was submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, for a second reading on Monday.

The draft was first submitted to the Standing Committee of the NPC for deliberation in August 2021 for the first review.

The revised draft highlights the strategic position of sci-tech innovation and uses the power of the rule of law to improve the quality and efficiency of scientific and technological innovation.

The draft, which is currently under the second review, added some provisions on talent treatment, as talented people are the key force promoting innovation.

For example, to motivate scientific and technical personnel, it calls on research and development institutions, higher education institutions and enterprises to offer incentive measures such as dividends and stock rights.

According to the draft, efforts should be made to streamline management procedures to cut excessive administrative paperwork for sci-tech professionals.

The new draft also introduced provisions on issues such as boosting the cultivation of talent in strategic sci-tech domains, allocating more resources to basic research, and diversifying financing channels for sci-tech enterprises.

(With input from Xinhua)