China's research and development (R&D) expenditure rose 8.2 percent year on year to 3.93 trillion yuan (about 584.5 billion U.S. dollars) in 2025, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday.
Over the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), the country's R&D spending rose at an average annual rate of 10 percent, and China now ranks as the world's second-largest R&D investor, said Luo Qiushi, an NBS statistician.
China's R&D intensity, which measures spending as a share of GDP, rose 0.11 percentage points to 2.8 percent last year, exceeding the OECD average of 2.72 percent for the first time and ranking 12th in the world.
By type of R&D activity, spending on basic research, applied research and experimental development grew 13.3 percent, 3.2 percent and 8.4 percent year on year to 283.46 billion yuan, 444.16 billion yuan and 3.2 trillion yuan, respectively.
In 2025, the growth rate of funding for basic research exceeded that of R&D expenditure by 5.1 percentage points, maintaining double-digit growth momentum.
Currently, China ranks second globally in total funding for basic research.
Enterprise R&D spending exceeded 3 trillion yuan for the first time, accounting for 77.4 percent of the total.
Enterprises have accounted for more than 77 percent of the country's total R&D spending for four consecutive years, and their contribution to the overall increase reached 73.7 percent, cementing their role as the main engine of China's R&D spending expansion, according to the NBS.
In 2025, government-affiliated research institutions and higher education institutions accounted for 11.6 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively, of the total R&D spending, with proportions roughly unchanged from the previous year.
Regional innovation hubs played a prominent role. In 2025, R&D expenditure in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and Guangdong reached 536.82 billion yuan, 1.22 trillion yuan, and 551.04 billion yuan, respectively, representing year-on-year increases of 10.3 percent, 8.7 percent, and 8.1 percent.
The combined R&D spending of these three major innovation hubs accounted for 58.8 percent of the national total, up 0.4 percentage points from the previous year.
In 2025, the national fiscal expenditure on science and technology reached 1.32 trillion yuan, an increase of 55.53 billion yuan, or 4.4 percent, year on year.
Of this total, central and local fiscal spending on science and technology amounted to 447.32 billion yuan and 871.12 billion yuan respectively, accounting for 33.9 percent and 66.1 percent of the total national fiscal science and technology expenditure.
Overall, in 2025, the scale of R&D funding continued to expand, with a rapid increase in the proportion allocated to basic research, according to Luo.
Looking ahead, efforts will be intensified to increase total R&D expenditure, consolidate inclusive policies in the field of scientific and technological innovation, and establish a science and technology finance system that aligns with innovation needs, Luo said.
It is essential to effectively leverage fiscal funding as a guiding force in science and technology investment, improve the diversified investment structure, and provide a solid guarantee for accelerating the advancement of high-level self-reliance and strength in science and technology, Luo added.
Editor：Zhou Jinmiao
