By Wang Shanshan (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-28 07:30

The country's R&D/GDP ratio has more than doubled in a decade and was 1.43 percent in 2005 compared to only 0.6 percent in 1995.

"This is a spectacular achievement but does not mean that the innovation capabilities of the Chinese economy are already on a par with those of OECD members which have a similar R&D intensity of production," the OECD said.

On the other hand, only 6 percent of the gross domestic expenditure on R&D is devoted to basic research, less than 20 percent goes to applied research, and more than 70 percent corresponds to experimental development. "The lack of basic and applied research implies that little research is likely to lead to patentable inventions," it said.

The OECD forecast China could also face a shortage of skilled workers in science and technology in the future, despite currently having more researchers than any country except the United States.

The reason is that undergraduate degrees in science have fallen "even in absolute terms" in recent years, the report said.

On the report's release, Li Xueyong, vice-minister of science and technology, said the report is "an example of China's increasing international collaboration in the field of science".

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