China's research and development spending reports steady growth in 2024

China's research and development expenditure rose 8.9 percent year on year to more than 3.6 trillion yuan (about 506.41 billion U.S. dollars) last year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.

Over the 2021-2024 period, the country's research and development spending rose at an average annual rate of 10.5 percent -- one of the fastest paces among major economies -- making China the world's second-largest research and development investor.

Research and development intensity, which looks expenditure as a share of GDP, edged up 0.11 percentage points to 2.69 percent last year.

In 2024, China's spending on basic research, applied research, and experimental development grew by 10.7 percent, 17.6 percent, and 7.6 percent, respectively, compared with the previous year.

Enterprises have accounted for more than 75 percent of the country's total research and development spending for many years running, and their contribution to the overall increase in such spending reached 77.1 percent, cementing their role as the main engine of China's research and development spending expansion.

The U.S. dollar increased in late trading on Thursday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, gained 0.06 percent to 98.425 at 3 p.m. (2000 GMT).

In late New York trading, the euro decreased to 1.1725 dollars from 1.1745 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound was up to 1.3386 dollars from 1.3378 U.S. dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 155.52 Japanese yen, lower than 155.63 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar declined to 0.7940 Swiss francs from 0.7953 Swiss francs, and it fell to 1.3781 Canadian dollars from 1.3789 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar fell to 9.2846 Swedish kronor from 9.2984 Swedish kronor.