The statistic bulletin jointly published by National Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Finance shows that China's sci-tech investment maintained rapid growth in 2003. The total expenditure of social scientific research and experiment development reached 1536.96 billion yuan, an increase of 25.2 billion yuan or 19.6% higher than that of last year. The proportion of R&D expenditure against the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) registered a record high of 1.31 percent in 2003.

Much support has been given to the cause of science and technology from national finance with the appropriated funds on the stable rise and the total funds allocated hitting 97.55 billion yuan. It is an increase of 15.93 yuan or 19.5% higher than that of last year and 3.96 percent of the nation's total financial expenditure.

The principal position of the enterprises' technological innovation was further consolidated. Among the total expenditure for social scientific research and experiment development, all enterprises' cost took up 96.02 billion yuan or 62.4 percent; the expenditure of state-owned scientific research institutions of independent accounting accounted of 39.9 billion yuan or 25.9 percent, while the expenditure of colleges and universities making up 16.23 billion Yuan or 10.5 percent.

By People's Daily Online