A novel method was proposed to enhance the ductility of the near surface mounted (NSM) carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) strengthening system. The principle of the proposed method is to enable stable and controlled slip of CFRP reinforcements in ultimate state, so as to significantly improve the bending ductility and simultaneously fully use the tensile strength of CFRP without rupture. The related design algorithm was introduced, and the bondslip tests on NSMCFRP system and the bending tests on NSMCFRP strengthened reinforced concrete (RC) beams were conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method and the accuracy of the design algorithm.