Amid rapid global changes and fierce international competition in science and technology, the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China highlighted “strengthening the construction of national strategic scientific and technological forces and improving the national laboratory system.” Serving as the foundation of China’s new system for mobilizing resources nationwide and the driving force for national strategic science and technology, national laboratories bear the dual responsibilities of safeguarding national security and promoting high-quality development. They represent the highest level of strategic scientific and technological strength in the country and are crucial for achieving advanced scientific and technological self-reliance. This paper discusses the current challenges facing China’s national laboratories, such as limited institutional support, imperfect coordination mechanisms, and constrained funding sources. It also explores strategies for system optimization, aiming to provide theoretical and practical insights for enhancing the national laboratory system.

The paper adopts a multi-method approach, including literature review, comparative analysis, and systems thinking, to comprehensively assess the development, roles, and challenges of China’s national laboratories. Drawing on China’s practical experience and the evolutionary logic of national laboratories, as well as the successful management practices from scientifically advanced countries, the study examines how to harmonize various relationships, innovate institutional frameworks, balance existing resources with incremental growth, and foster the synergy between independent research and collaborative efforts.

There is a shared understanding of the core role of national laboratories as the backbone of strategic scientific and technological forces reflecting national will, focusing on basic research and breakthroughs in key technologies, and serving as “general platforms” and “general chain leaders” in resource coordination. The study defines the multidimensional positioning of laboratories within China’s sci-tech innovation system and affirms that balancing six key relationships is fundamental to system improvement. Additionally, integrating innovation, industry, capital, and talent chains is identified as a vital pathway to cultivate new-quality productive forces through sci-tech innovation.

Improving China’s national laboratory system is a complex, long-term, and systematic undertaking. It requires adherence to high-level design and market-oriented operation, clearly defining autonomy boundaries while strengthening supervision, establishing a stable and diversified funding mechanism, and developing a scientific assessment system that emphasizes long-term goals and national missions. This process is dynamic and demands ongoing adjustments in response to evolving national strategies and global competition. Through institutional and mechanism innovation, national laboratories can fulfill their leadership role in original innovation and key technology breakthroughs, supporting the development of new-quality productive forces. In doing so, they can underpin China’s ambition to become a global leader in science and technology and safeguard its strategic interests.