An increase of 10.1% compared to the previous year, and the total investment in research and development in China exceeded 3 trillion yuan last year
Recently, the National Bureau of Statistics, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Finance jointly released the Statistical Bulletin on National Science and Technology Investment in 2022. According to the data from the Gazette, the total investment in research and experimental development in China's society exceeded 3 trillion yuan in 2022, reaching 3078.29 billion yuan, an increase of 10.1% compared to the previous year, continuing the trend of rapid growth.
Zhang Qilong, a statistician from the Social Science and Culture Department of the National Bureau of Statistics, stated that the increase in China's R&D investment from 1 trillion yuan to 2 trillion yuan took 8 years, and from 2 trillion yuan to 3 trillion yuan only took 4 years. This fully reflects the effectiveness of China's innovation driven development strategy in recent years.
While the total amount has reached a new level, the investment intensity continues to increase. In 2022, the intensity of R&D investment in China was 2.54%, an increase of 0.11 percentage points from the previous year, the second highest increase in nearly 10 years. The intensity of R&D investment ranks 13th in the world, between the average level of EU and OECD countries, and the gap with OECD countries has further narrowed.
The status of the enterprise as the main body has been further consolidated. Enterprises, government research institutions, and higher education institutions are the three main executing entities of research and development activities in China. In 2022, the research and development funds of the three major entities were 238.786 billion yuan, 381.44 billion yuan, and 241.24 billion yuan, respectively, an increase of 11%, 2.6%, and 10.6% compared to the previous year. Among them, the contribution of enterprises to the growth of research and development funds reached 84%, an increase of 4.6 percentage points from the previous year, which is the main driving force for the growth of research and development funds; The proportion of research and development funds in the country is 77.6%, an increase of 0.7 percentage points from the previous year, further stabilizing the position of innovation as the main body.
The investment in key areas continues to expand. In 2022, research and development funds for industrial enterprises above designated size reached 1936.18 billion yuan, an increase of 10.5% compared to the previous year; The investment intensity was 1.39%, an increase of 0.06 percentage points from the previous year. The steady increase in R&D funding intensity in key areas has created conditions for key core technology breakthroughs and the enhancement of industrial basic capabilities. In industries above designated size, the R&D funding for high-tech manufacturing is 65077 billion yuan, with an investment intensity of 2.91%, an increase of 0.20 percentage points from the previous year; The R&D funding for the equipment manufacturing industry was 1193.55 billion yuan, with an investment intensity of 2.34%, an increase of 0.15 percentage points from the previous year.
New breakthroughs have been made in basic research investment, and the proportion continues to rise. In terms of research and development activities, the funding for basic research, applied research, and experimental development in China in 2022 was 202.35 billion yuan, 348.25 billion yuan, and 2527.69 billion yuan, respectively, an increase of 11.4%, 10.7%, and 9.9% compared to the previous year. Among them, the growth rate of basic research funds is 1.3 percentage points faster than that of research and development funds, continuing to maintain a rapid growth; The total amount exceeded 200 billion yuan for the first time, ranking second in the world in scale; The proportion of research and development funds has reached 6.57%, continuing the upward trend. Higher education institutions and government research institutions have contributed 44.8% and 38.3% respectively to the growth of basic research funding, making them the main force in China's basic research activities.
The steady growth of fiscal technology expenditure has effectively ensured the demand for funds. According to the national financial settlement data, the national fiscal science and technology expenditure in 2022 was 1112.84 billion yuan, an increase of 36.17 billion yuan or 3.4% compared to the previous year. Among them, the central and local fiscal science and technology expenditures were 380.34 billion yuan and 732.5 billion yuan, accounting for 34.2% and 65.8% of the national fiscal science and technology expenditures, respectively.
Innovation support policies are more diverse. In 2022, the number of above designated enterprises that enjoy the preferential policies of tax reduction and exemption for R&D expenses and high-tech enterprises increased by 16.3% and 11.7% respectively compared to the previous year. According to a survey of entrepreneurs, in 2022, the average recognition rate of five innovative funding support policies by enterprises on a regular basis, including tax incentives for R&D expenses, income tax incentives for high-tech enterprises, accelerated depreciation policies for specialized instruments and equipment for enterprise R&D activities, tax exemptions and exemptions for technology transfer and development income, and financial support related policies, reached 83.4%.
Zhang Qilong stated that in the next stage, on the one hand, we need to further improve the diversified investment mechanism for research and development funds, increase financial support, expand the effectiveness of policies such as tax and fee reductions for research and development expenditures, improve financial support systems such as direct financing and guidance funds, and encourage local governments to continue increasing research and development investment. On the other hand, we need to focus on precise support for key technologies and key areas, continuously increase investment in basic research and achievement transformation, and strive to improve the efficiency of fund utilization.