China now number 2 in R&D spend: "Stunning" says OECD

Stuart Corner
Monday, 04 December 2006 16:34

IT Industry - Strategy

The OECD expects China to become world's second highest investor, after the USA, in R&D by end of 2006, according to the OECD.

"The rapid rise of China in both money spent and researchers employed is stunning," said Dirk Pilat, head of the OECD's science and technology policy division. "To keep up, OECD countries need to make their research and innovation systems more efficient and find new ways to stimulate innovation in today's increasingly competitive global economy."

The OECD says that, based on recent trends, China will spend just over $US136 billion on R&D in 2006, just ahead of Japan's forecast $US130 billion. Both are however a long way behind the USA which will spend $US330 billion. The EU-15, which includes France, Germany and the UK, is predicted to spend just over $US230 billion.

China's spending on R&D as a percentage of GDP, known as R&D intensity, has more than doubled from 0.6 percent of GDP in 1995 to just over 1.2 percent in 2004. China's R&D spend is growing faster than the economy which is growing by between 9 and 10 percent a year.

In China, according to the OECD, the number of researchers increased by 77 percent between 1995 and 2004. China now ranks second worldwide with 926 000 researchers, just behind the United States (more than 1.3 million), and Russia ranks fourth. Singapore employs more researchers per thousand of total employment than the OECD average.

The OECD's figures for 2005 and 2006 are derived be extrapolating the observed changes from 2000-2004 and are available in the Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2006 which can be purchased in paper or electronic form through the OECD's Online Bookshop. www.oecd.org/sti/outlook.