Chinese 2012 R&D Spending Reached One Trillion Yuan

AsianScientist (Feb. 25, 2013) – China’s R&D spending increased 17.9 percent year on year to 1.02 trillion yuan (US$162.24 billion) in 2012, according to data released Friday.

R&D expenditure represented 1.97 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) last year, up from the 1.84 percent and 1.75 percent in 2011 and 2010, respectively, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

China’s annual R&D spending has grown on average by more than 20 percent for six straight years since 2006 before slowing slightly last year, said an earlier NBS report.

A total of 217,105 invention patents to domestic and overseas applicants were approved in 2012, up 26.1 percent from the previous year, reported the State Intellectual Property Office.

During an inspection tour of the Ministry of Science and Technology on Thursday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao urged scientists, science administrators, and business leaders to have a ‘sense of urgency’ in their scientific research, at a time when all countries are competing for technological dominance.

As reported by the state-run Xinhua news agency, Wen called for reform in the country’s scientific institutions, and for science and technology to drive an innovation-based economy.

Wen also urged for reform to the education system to help create an environment that promotes creativity and innovation.

In 2011, plans were announced to increase the annual enrollment of post-doctoral researchers at key universities and research institutes to 17,000 in 2015, an increase of over 60 percent from 2010, as part of a five-year blueprint for scientific development in the country.

——

Copyright: Asian Scientist Magazine; Photo: Sanofi Pasteur/Flickr/CC.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.