China’s new budget emphasizes basic research

Nature : Chinese premier Li Keqiang presented his first budget last week. Although it favors investment in research, some observers are concerned that increased funding may be wasted unless changes occur in where and how the funds are allocated. China’s R&D budget has increased yearly by 23% on average for the past 10 years and the budget provides $43.6 billion this year, an 8.9% increase from last year. A collection of 16 projects focusing in areas such as transgenic crops, nuclear power plants, and lunar exploration will receive $8.1 billion of that budget. In the area of basic research, where China invested just 4.8% of its budget last year, Li’s budget increases the country’s investment by 12.5% this year to $6.6 billion. In comparison, developed countries invest between 10% and 20% of their budgets in basic research. However, both industry and research institutions in China heavily favor investing in product development over basic and applied research. That leaves many scientists concerned that the increased government funding may be misused.