CHINA’S total expenditure on research and development (R&D) exceeded 3 trillion yuan (US$418.20 billion) in 2022, up 10.1% year on year, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday.

China’s R&D spending jumped 7.7% last year at constant prices, higher than the 7% R&D annual growth target set for the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), said Zhang Qilong, a statistician with the bureau.

China’s total spending on R&D accounted for 2.54% of its gross domestic product last year, up 0.11 percentage points from the previous year.

R&D spending of enterprises contributed to 84% of the country’s R&D growth, up 4.6 percentage points from a year earlier.

Investment in basic research continued to grow last year, topping 200 billion yuan and accounting for 6.57% of the total R&D spending.

China will continue to encourage local authorities to increase R&D spending and improve the efficiency of capital utilization, Zhang said. (Xinhua)