GENERAL UPDATE · 2026-10-17
China national R&D spending rose 8.2% in 2025, reaching 2.80% of GDP
IN SHORT
China recorded 3,928.82 billion yuan in research and experimental development expenditure in 2025, up 8.2% year over year. R&D intensity was 2.8% of GDP, with basic research spending increasing 13.3%.
WHY IT MATTERS IN CANADA
Canadian research organizations, technology companies and industrial competitors can use China's national R&D spending and business-versus-basic-research allocation as innovation-capacity context. These data do not directly establish technology commercialization, Chinese orders for Canadian products or bilateral R&D partnerships.
WHAT HAPPENED
- National R&D expenditures totaled 3,928.82 billion yuan in 2025 and grew 8.2% over 2024.
- R&D intensity was 2.8% of GDP, up 0.11 percentage points.
- Basic research spending reached 283.46 billion yuan, up 13.3%.
- Enterprises accounted for 3,039.44 billion yuan of R&D spending, up 7.7%.
KEY NUMBERS
- 3,928.82 billion yuanNational R&D expenditure2025
- +8.2%National R&D year-over-year growth2025
- 2.8% of GDPNational R&D intensity2025
- +13.3%Basic research year-over-year growth2025
- 3,039.44 billion yuanR&D expenditure by enterprises2025
WHAT THE DATA SHOWS
This is a 2025 annual spending release published in October 2026, not evidence of an October 2026 change in expenditure. Nominal spending and spending shares are not innovation-output measures.
OBOR analysis based on the cited source. Relevance and classification are analytical assessments, not objective measures. How OBOR separates evidence, relevance and confidence →
INDUSTRIES
SOURCE
National Bureau of Statistics of China — Latest Releases · View source →