China’s growth in research and development (R&D) funding slowed for the third year in a row last year amid a shaky economic recovery, but investment intensity continued to rise at a steady pace, propelled by the country’s push for hi-tech self-reliance. Preliminary estimates released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that R&D funding surpassed CNY3.6 trillion in 2024, an 8.3% rise on the previous year, as China continued to dominate global research output. That growth in expenditure was down from 8.4% in 2023, 10.1% in 2022 and 14.6% in 2021. In contrast, last year’s R&D intensity – defined as the ratio of expenditure to GDP and an indicator of a country’s strength in science and technology, innovation capacity, and competitiveness – was 2.68%, up from 2.58% in 2023, 2.49% in 2022 and 2.38% in 2021.
According to the U.S. National Science Board, R&D investment intensity in the United States has been above 3% each year since 2019, reaching a peak of 3.4% in 2022. Other data indicates that it is holding on to the top spot in R&D expenditure. China in recent years has spearheaded more original innovation and groundbreaking research, to boost its technological self-reliance, power future growth, and gain a stronger footing in its rivalry with the U.S. In its annual report in April, the American Association for the Advancement of Science said the U.S. was responsible for 32% of the world’s R&D expenditure in 2021, compared to China’s 27% global share, the South China Morning Post reports.
