Investment in research and development (R&D) rose by 22 percent in China last year, said Minister of Science and Technology Xu Guanhua on Monday.

 

Many breakthroughs were made in science and technology in 2006 including the innovative capabilities of enterprises, the number of patents registered and research papers produced, said Xu at a national conference.

 

Industrialization of high-technology grew rapidly and the performance of high-tech products on the international market improved significantly, he said. Science and technology were making a greater contribution to economic and social development, explained Xu.

 

Last year China's total R&D spending was 300 billion yuan (US$38.5 billion). This accounted for 1.4 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), said Xu. "It's the first time the proportion of R&D spending in terms of GDP has reached such a high level," he noted.

 

China's GDP reached 20.94 trillion yuan (US$2.7 trillion) in 2006 which is up 10.7 percent on 2005, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2007)