Two sessions 2020: China cuts science budget by 9 per cent but national R&D still tipped to grow
- Spending by local governments expected to buoy investment in the area despite the tough times
- Authorities show strong commitment to innovation as the country weathers fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, observer says
China’s central government will reduce its spending on science and technology by 9 per cent this year, as the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic forces an unprecedented cut.
But local governments will increase their investment to ensure growth in overall public expenditure on research and development of more than 3 per cent, according to the national budget proposal submitted by the Ministry of Finance to the nation’s lawmakers on Friday.
One Chinese science policy analyst said the budget indicated that innovation remained a government priority despite the difficult times.
In all, the central government has earmarked about 320 billion yuan (US$45 billion) for spending on science and technology this year, or 9.1 per cent less than last year.
The cut was part of a halving in expenditure on non-emergency sectors and in contrast to the double-digit growth in spending in the area in recent years, including a more than 13 per cent increase in the central government’s R&D budget in 2019.
China spent 2.17 trillion yuan on R&D last year – more than three times that in 2010, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology.
More than 70 per cent of the investment last year came from state-owned enterprises or private companies such as tech giant Huawei Technologies, the science ministry said, adding that