China’s research and development (R&D) spending exceeded CNY3.92 trillion in 2025, accounting for 2.8% of its GDP and surpassing the average among the 38 OECD member countries for the first time, Science and Technology Minister Yin Hejun said. China now ranks ninth globally in comprehensive innovation capacity. The country is accelerating its shift from a global participant and contributor in science and technology to a pioneer and leader, and is among the countries with the fastest-growing innovation capacity, Minister Yin said. Over the past five years, China’s scientific and technological innovation has reached a new level, making solid strides toward becoming a global sci-tech powerhouse and providing strong support for high-quality development and improvements in people’s livelihoods.
China’s international patent applications and the number of high-level international journal papers have ranked first worldwide for many consecutive years. Major original achievements have emerged, with new breakthroughs in chip research and open-source large models leading globally, while emerging industries such as new energy vehicles and robots are booming, the Minister said. Innovative drugs and new crop varieties are among the scientific and technological achievements benefiting the public, he added. Looking ahead, China will improve strategic, forward-looking and systematic planning of basic research, pursue “from 0 to 1” original innovation and explore uncharted territory, Yin said. To tackle key core technologies, China will promote breakthroughs across the entire industrial chain in integrated circuits, industrial machine tools and high-end instruments, while strengthening research in AI, quantum technology, biotechnology and brain-computer interfaces. Enterprises will be given a stronger role in technological and industrial innovation, with more innovation resources channeled toward them.
More than 60% of graduate students each year are studying science, engineering, agriculture and medicine. “China has built the world’s largest education system, has the most complete range of talent resources and has the world’s largest R&D personnel team,” Yin said. Long Teng, Vice Minister of Science and Technology, said basic research is the source of the entire scientific system and the key to addressing technological challenges. Qiu Yong, another Vice Minister of Science and Technology, said China maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward academic misconduct, with a special campaign targeting retracted papers involving academic misconduct and a crackdown on paper buying and selling, the China Daily reports.
