R&D spending in China continued to grow in 2011, increasing 23% to CNY 868.7 billion ($139 billion). R&D spending accounted for 1.84% of the country’s GDP, up from 1.76% in 2010. Investment in basic research, applied research and experimental development, a term the Chinese government defines as “systematic activities aiming at using the knowledge from basic and applied research or from practical experience to develop new products, materials and equipment,” grew 26.9%, 15.1% and 24.0% to account for 5%, 12% and 83% of R&D spending, respectively. Chinese business expenditures climbed 26.9% to CNY 657.9 billion. Government spending grew 10.1% to CNY 130.7 billion, and university expenditure increased 15.3% to CNY 68.9 billion. In total, the Chinese provinces and municipalities of Jiangsu, Guangdong, Beijing, Shandong, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Liaoning and Hubei contributed 67% of R&D investment.

Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China