BEIJING, June 23 (Xinhua) -- China will step up its efforts to promote independent innovation and technological advancement among its central state-owned enterprises (SOEs), the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) said Thursday.

Scientific and technological advancement will contribute more than 60 percent to the growth of the country's central SOEs during the 2011-2015 period, SASAC chairman Wang Yong said at a work meeting.

Speeding up innovation is now an urgent priority for central SOEs, as they must enhance their core competitiveness in the face of a rapidly changing global marketplace, Wang said.

Central SOEs should integrate foreign technologies and use them to create new products with independent intellectual property rights, he said.

The SASAC will design new measures and improve current policies to create a more favorable environment for central SOEs, he added.

Before the meeting, the SASAC signed a memorandum with the Ministry of Science and Technology to jointly promote innovation among central SOEs.

According to a work plan issued by the SASAC, the number of authorized patent applications filed by central SOEs will double over the next five years.

(Source:Xinhua)