In line with the Chinese government's efforts to boost basic research and innovation across the country, Premier Li Keqiang has vowed to provide local universities and colleges greater autonomy in their teaching and research.

Moreover, Li also pledged to increase the subsidies the state provides to masteral or doctoral degree students, reported the China Daily.

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According to a statement released by the Central Government, the premier made these commitments during a meeting that sought to gather inputs for the annual Government Work Report to be released in March.

The gathering, which aimed to strengthen the Chinese people's competitiveness in basic research and innovation, was attended by representatives coming from the fields of education, science, culture, sports and healthcare as well as startup businesses.

In his remarks, Li promised to carry on with the national government's innovation-driven strategy, as well as allow universities and other learning institutes to determine the best ways on how to teach and conduct their research.

He also raised the possibility of government establishing more favorable polices for learning institutions, providing schools more funds, and encouraging scientists to be more involved in basic research.

It is worth noting that is has been the third time the premier has underscored the need to give Chinese universities more leeway with regards to their preferred methods of teaching in order to spur greater interest in basic research and innovation.

In the meantime, Chinese technology billionaire Charles Chen Yidan has pledged to give out the biggest education prize worldwide, according to BBC.

Through the Yidan Prize, the co-founder of China'S internet giant Tencent will award as much as $8M (£6.64M) yearly to two research projects that have the potential to "transform" global education.

In response, foreign universities and governments have expressed great interest in the prize, including US-based Harvard and MIT which have already submitted their respective nominations.

With these developments, the Chinese are poised to become a leader in basic research and innovation

Tagschina, Research and Innovation, Chinese Basic Research and Innovation, Charles Chen Yidan