China's spending on research and development surpassed $496B in 2024

Investments in basic research increased by 10.5% from 2023 to 249.7 billion yuan ($34.46 billion) in 2024, or 6.91% of the total R&D spending.

R&D intensity -- measure of a nation's strength in science and technology, ability for innovation, and competitiveness and is calculated as the ratio of expenditure to GDP -- remained stable at 2.68% last year, placing China 12th among the world's major nations, surpassing the 2.11% average for EU nations, and coming close to the 2.73% average of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

R&D spending in China increased by 14.6% in 2021 compared to the year before, but over the following two years, advances tapered to 10.1% and 8.4%, respectively, due to post-pandemic economic headwinds.

Meanwhile, China's R&D investment intensity increased steadily, from 2.38% in 2021 to 2.49% in 2022 and 2.58% in 2023.