The Information Office of the State Council invited Vice Minister LI Xueyong to give an introduction on the S&T achievements during the past six decades on September 17, Beijing.

According to the Vice Minister, S&T input has increased significantly since the founding of People’s Republic of China 60 years ago. The total S&T investment by government in 2008 exceeded 240 billion RMB yuan, almost 40 times higher than that in 1978, when China started the Reform and Opening up policy. Statistics have shown that S&T input by the private sector in 2008 was over 338 billion RMB yuan, accounting for 70% of the total.

LI said that in 2020, China would be listed as an innovative country. At present, the numbers of SCI thesis and patent license in China is world No. 3 and No. 4 world respectively. S&T workforce in China is 42 million, ranking 1st in the world, while the number of those engaged in R&D is 1.9 million, ranking 2nd.