China reviews report on application of sci-tech achievements

BEIJING -- Chinese lawmakers are currently reviewing a report on promoting the application of scientific and technological achievements.

The State Council's report, submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation on Monday, shows that since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), China has witnessed a marked increase in both the volume and quality of applications of sci-tech achievements, effectively transforming innovations into productive forces.

According to the report, the total value of technology contracts signed nationwide rose from 2.83 trillion yuan (roughly $402 billion) in 2020 to 6.84 trillion yuan in 2024 -- an increase of 141.7 percent.

The deployment of new technologies has accelerated the optimization and upgrading of traditional industries, and strategic emerging industries have continued to expand, per the report.

In 2024, the value added of high-tech manufacturing companies above a designated scale was 42 percent higher than in 2020, and frontier fields such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology emerged as new engines of economic growth.

The integration of sci-tech innovation and industrial innovation is accelerating, with enterprises contributing over 77 percent of the country's total R&D expenditure and holding 73.7 percent of all valid domestic invention patents, according to the report.

It notes that China has put an institutional framework for the application of sci-tech achievements largely in place. Relevant laws and regulations are being improved steadily, and a policy system for the promotion of such transformation has been essentially established.