“Unveiling the List” Competition Mechanism

A Chinese government method where officials post key tech problems publicly and let any capable team compete to solve them.

“Unveiling the list and taking command” (揭榜挂帅, jiebang guashuai) is a way Chinese science and technology programs are organized: the party posing the challenge — a government agency or a leading company — publishes a “list” of key technical problems that need solving, with clear targets and deadlines, and whoever can meet them may “unveil” the challenge and lead the effort to tackle it, regardless of seniority or affiliation. Successful teams receive funding or orders. The phrase entered central-government speeches around 2016 and was later written into the recommendations for the 14th Five-Year Plan. It's meant to fix a problem with traditional project approval, where funding decisions were based on seniority and track record rather than the actual need. In robotics, tasks related to future industries and humanoid robots from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other agencies are reported to use this mechanism too; news that “a company was selected as a list-unveiling unit” usually means it won a national-level technical challenge.

Also called

Jiebang Guashuai, Open Call for Technical Champions

Related

Application Scenario List / Scenario Opening · Chokepoint Technology · Domestic Substitution · Future Industries · Guiding Opinions on the Innovative Development of Humanoid Robots

Sources

中国政府网 政策文件库 (Chinese)