National R&D expenditure
China reported RMB 3.63 trillion in R&D expenditure for 2024, including RMB 250.09 billion in basic research.
Source: China’s 2024 national science and technology expenditure communiqué
China and biotechnology research
China’s role in
biotechnology research.
China’s research investment, biopharma innovation and clinical research activity make it a significant part of the global biotechnology landscape. The figures below provide background only; conclusions about individual products require the evidence documented for each research record.
Research capacity, innovation and evidence for each record. Research context in numbersChina’s biotechnology
China’s biotechnology
research landscape.
These indicators, with links to their sources, describe the reach of China’s research environment. They provide context and do not establish the safety, quality, efficacy or status of any individual research record.
First in class innovative drugs
China’s NMPA reported 48 first in class innovative drug approvals in 2024. This reflects the scale of the research environment, not the quality of any individual product.
Source: NMPA report on first-in-class innovative-drug approvalsTrial records in China
A 2023 peer reviewed analysis identified 32,017 Chinese Clinical Trial Registry records through October 2020.
Source: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry 13-year data collection and analysis Reading the research contextContext matters.
Context matters.
Evidence is specific to each record.
National indicators help explain the broader research environment. To understand an individual product, read the documentation and evidence in its record, such as the Retatrutide research record, and visit News for research updates.
Scale provides context
OECD data show that China’s R&D expenditure reached 96% of the United States’ level in 2023 when measured in PPP adjusted dollars.
Read the OECD R&D analysisBiopharma innovation has expanded
CSIS reports that China’s share of the global biopharmaceutical innovation pipeline increased from 4.1% in 2015 to 13.9% in 2020.
Read the CSIS biopharma analysis Browse the catalogueExplore research
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