China's funding for science and technology grew at a faster pace in 1999, according to a report jointly released on November 20 by the National Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Science & Technology and Ministry of Finance.
The report shows that central government spending on scientific and technological activities grew steadily, while business spending for technology innovation also increased considerably, particularly in new product development. As a result, spending for research and development (R&D) exceeded 0.8 percent of China's gross domestic product for the first time.
China raised 146.06 billion yuan (US$17.64 billion) for science and technology projects in 1999, up 12.5 percent from 1998.
In 1999, the Chinese government spent 54.39 billion yuan (US$6.57 billion) for science and technology development, an increase of 26.8 percent from 1998. This amounted to 4.1 percent of the government's fiscal expenditures for the year.
Total spending for science and technology development was 128.49 billion yuan (US$15.52 billion) in 1999, up 13 percent from that of 1998.
China's large and medium-sized industrial enterprises, which are the main sources of technological innovation, spent a total of 56.72 billion yuan (US$6.85 billion) on developing new technologies, an increase of 18.5 percent from 1998. Of this total, 30.46 billion yuan (US$3.68 billion) went to developing new products, an increase of 24.2 percent.
China's total R&D expenditures reached 67.89 billion yuan (US$8.13 billion) in 1999, representing a 17.7 percent increase from 1998. This amounted to 0.83 percent of China's GDP, the highest level in history.
(People's Daily 11/23/2000)
