China increases research spending to 3.9 trillion yuan — South China Morning Post

In China, spending on research and experimental development rose by 8.2% in 2025 and exceeded 3.9 trillion yuan, or $583 billion. The data were released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics, South China Morning Post reports.

According to the state news agency Xinhua, over the five years through 2025, China’s spending on research and development grew by an average of 10% annually. In total spending of this kind, China ranks second only to the United States, while exceeding Germany’s figure by 3.4 times and Japan’s by 3.5 times.

Growth in basic research

Funding for basic research grew the fastest among the three categories, rising by 13.3% year on year. A total of 283.46 billion yuan was allocated to it, accounting for slightly more than 7% of total research and development spending.

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Research spending by higher education institutions reached 340.7 billion yuan, up 11% compared with 2024. The corporate sector provided the largest share of investment: companies’ spending exceeded 3 trillion yuan for the first time and accounted for more than 77% of the total.

Priority technologies

China’s Minister of Science and Technology, Yin Hejun, said last month that he intended to strengthen basic research. Beijing also plans to step up efforts to eliminate bottlenecks in critical sectors, including semiconductor manufacturing, industrial machinery engineering, and high-tech equipment.

Additional support is expected for research in artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, biotechnology, and brain-computer interfaces. The highest research spending was recorded in the provinces of Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shandong, as well as in Shanghai and Beijing — more than 200 billion yuan in each of these regions.