The 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress in 2012 proposed the strategy of innovation-driven development and stressed that scientific and technological innovation is a strategic pillar for boosting social productivity and comprehensive national strength.

Over the past years, China has attached great importance to scientific and technological innovation, which is reflected in its increasing spending on research and development (R&D).

According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, China's R&D investment reached 2.44 trillion yuan in 2020, an increase of 105.9% from 2013; the per capita expenditure according to full-time workload of R&D personnel recorded 466,000 yuan in 2020, an increase of 39.1% from 2013; and R&D investment intensity (ratio to GDP) was 2.40%, compared with 2.08% in 2013.

China.org.cn created charts showing the trajectories of the three indicators: