According to the Statistical Bulletin on Annual Government R&D Expenditure (2018), China spent almost 2 trillion yuan on research and development (R&D) in 2018, up 11.8 percent year-on-year, of which 109.4 billion yuan ($15.2 billion) went to basic research. Universities and state-owned research institutions spent 59 and 42.3 billion ¥, respectively, whereas enterprises accounted for only 3 percent.
Xinhua net news release, Sept. 4, 2019
China’s R&D expenditure for basic science exceeded 100 billion RMB in 2018