(Yicai) Oct. 8 -- China ranked second worldwide for research, test, and development expenses on science and technology last year, according to the latest official report.

China spent over CNY3.34 trillion (USD467.3 billion) on sci-tech research, test, and development activities last year, up 8.4 percent from the previous year, according to a communique released on Oct. 2 by the National Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Science and Technology, and Ministry of Finance.

China’s spending on sci-tech research, test, and development activities exceeded CNY1 trillion in 2012, CNY2 trillion in 2019, and CNY3 trillion last year, said Zhang Qilong, a statistician at the NBS Department of Social Science and Technology and Cultural Statistics. China ranked second only to the United States last year, he added.

The CNY3.3 trillion accounted for 2.65 percent of China’s gross domestic product last year, up 9 basis points from the previous year, the report showed. The ratio was the 12th-highest in the world, with the average among members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development being 2.73 percent.

The Chinese government’s fiscal funding support was a main contributor to sci-tech research, test, and development. According to the report, fiscal spending on such activities rose 7.8 percent to CNY1.2 trillion in the period.

Most entities carrying out sci-tech research, test, and development activities were companies, government-affiliated research institutes, and higher-education institutions. They spent CNY2.59 trillion, CNY385.6 billion (USD54.6 billion), and CNY275.3 billion last year, up 8.6 percent, 1.1 percent, and 14.1 percent, respectively, from the year before.

Editors: Liao Shumin, Futura Costaglione