China's gross expenditure for research and development grew from 1.03 trillion yuan ($156 billion) in 2012 to 1.57 trillion yuan in 2016, with 77.5 percent being spent by enterprises. China also has topped the world for the six consecutive years in patent applications, including 1.34 million in 2016, more than double that in 2012, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology. Those achievements are fueled by a total of 3.81 million science workers, the largest group in the world. Wang Zhigang, vice-minister of Ministry of science and technology, expressed that "Innovation cannot be achieved solely by scientists in ivory towers. It has to be integrated closely with the economy, society, people's livelihood and national security," at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

Source: IPR in China