Compared to basic researh, 应用科学 involves much less risk and it's value is mostly defined by short term investment return and is mostly determined by the market. Now it's a known fact that government is pretty bad at managing this type of investment due to its organizational structure. In addition, big cow of 应用科学 is even a hotter commodity. You can't even dream about having a big cow to work for you for RMB15k/month while expecting 100% success rate.