BEIJING, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- China's scientific research and development spending in 2009 put it fourth in the world after the United States, Japan and Germany, officials said.
The country spent $87 billion on R&D, officials at the National Bureau of Statistics of China told the country's state-run news agency Xinhua Wednesday.
China's R&D activities in 2009 involved about 3.18 million people, the largest number in the world, Cha Zhimin, deputy director of the society and science department of the NBS, said.
Of the total spending, the government invested $20 billion on R&D in 2009, about 4.5 times that in 2000, indicating the government's willingness to boost innovation, Cha said.
However, the ratio of R&D investment against GDP stood at 1.7 percent, far behind the 3 percent in leading countries across the world, Cha said, adding China still remained far below many developed countries in original innovations, he said.
