A key index of tech innovation levels in China posted a sizeable increase to reach a new high in 2019.
The China Tech Innovation Index (中国创新指数) for 2019 was 228.3 for a YoY rise of 7.8%, according to survey results recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
19 out of 21 sub-indices distributed across four innovation areas posted increases in 2019, with four key indices seeing double digit gains, including those related to tax exemptions, trademarks, patent authorisations and tech personnel.
The China Innovation Environment reading for 2019 was 249.9, for a YoY rise of 10.5%, while the Innovation Productivity reading was 295.3, for a YoY rise of 11.8%, attesting to growth in the fruitfulness of Chinese innovation investment.
In 2019 a total of 2.474 million patents were granted by China domestically, for a YoY rise of 6.0%.
“In 2019 China’s innovation environment saw marked improvements, innovation investment was steady gains, innovation productivity rose significantly, and the results of innovation became more apparent,” said NBS official Li Yin (李胤).
China’s tech R&D investment was 2.21436 trillion yuan in 2019, for a YoY increase of 12.5%, and the fourth consecutive year of double-digit increase, while government fiscal tech expenditures were 1.07174 trillion yuan, for a YoY rise of 12.6%.
China’s R&D investment volume was second in the world in 2019, while its investment intensity – the ratio of R&D expenditures to GDP, was 2.23%, for an increase of 0.09 percentage points compared to 2018, and ahead of the average for the EU.
China was ranked 14th in the Global Innovation Index (GII) for 2020 released on 2 September by the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organisation, ahead of Japan and Canada.
