China breaks US$250 bn mark in R&D investment
10 October, 2018
In 2017, the total investment in research and development in China exceeded 1.76 trillion yuan (US$250 billion), a rise of 12.3% from a year earlie, People’s Daily reported.
The ratio of R&D expenditure to GDP also reached a historical high of 2.13%, according to a report co-released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance. Meanwhile, the R&D growth rate increased by 1.7 percentage points.
In terms of the total amount of R&D input, China is narrowing the gap with the US. In 2013, China’s total R&D expenditures ranked second in the world for the first time, accounting for 40% of that of the US. The proportion is expected to approach 60% in 2017.
From 2013 to 2016, China’s R&D investment increased by 11.1% on average every year, while the US, the European Union and Japan record only 2.7%, 2.3% and 0.6% respectively.
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