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A significant amount of research and development funding is allocated through the "Torch" program of the State Science and Technology Commission. The "Torch" program is a Chinese Government initiative aimed at promoting commercial application of the products of science and technology research. The same August 1998 report indicated that enterprises in the five Science and Technology parks (Beijing, Suzhou, Hefei, Xian, and Yantai) were officially open to members of ASEAN countries to promote internationalization of China's high and new technology industry under the auspices of the "Torch" program. While China's investment laws and regulations do not require technology transfer, they strongly encourage it, and foreign investors are likely to encounter pressure to agree to it. The primary criterion for doing business in China, according to experienced travelers, is technical competence.
An August 1998 report on the "Torch" program noted that fifty-three new national high technology industrial zones were created in the early part of the 1990's, bringing the total number of high-tech industrial zones to over 110. Statistics from the end of 1997 recorded 13,7000 enterprises in the various zones.
The same August 1998 report indicated that enterprises in the five Science and Technology parks (Beijing, Suzhou, Hefei, Xian, and Yantai) were officially open to members of ASEAN countries to promote internationalization of China's high and new technology industry under the auspices of the "Torch" program. These same parks may be included into a broader program opening them for cooperation with APEC members, extending the cooperation beyond ASEAN and eventually offering access for U.S.-invested companies to Chinese government-sponsored non-military projects.