China’s R&D spending continues to grow, but researchers are feeling the pinch

Total research and development expenditures rose more than 10 per cent last year, but average funding for scientists declined

Most of the US$421 billion dollars spent last year went to experimental development, far outpacing funding for basic research

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China spent a record amount of money on R&D last year, but concerns remain over the proportion of funding allocated to basic research. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 9:30pm, 18 Sep 2023Updated: 9:52pm, 18 Sep 2023

China’s R&D expenditure continued its upwards trajectory last year, increasing by more than 10 per cent annually to more than 3.08 trillion yuan (US$421 billion), according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday, a milestone according to some observers.

But concerns linger as the proportion of funding allocated to basic research remained relatively low, potentially hindering some of the nation’s development goals.

The ratio of research and development funding to GDP rose to 2.54 per cent in 2022, an increase of 0.11 percentage points over the previous year, the second-highest rise in nearly a decade.

Under Beijing’s medium to long-term science and technology plan published in 2013, the ratio was targeted to exceed 2.5 per cent by 2020.

“China has achieved milestones in both of the two indicators,” Sun Yutao, a professor at Dalian University of Technology’s School of Economics and Management, said in an interview with the Post.

Zhang Qilong, a statistician with the National Bureau of Statistics, said it took China eight years to double its R&D spending from 1 to 2 trillion yuan.

“But only half that much time to reach 3 trillion,” he wrote in an analysis for the bureau.

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