China’s Sci-Tech Innovation Shows Strong Momentum in Jan-Feb, Tax Data Reveals

Data from the State Taxation Administration, released on March 12, has indicated that China’s scientific and technological innovation has maintained a sound development momentum in the first two months of this year, with notable highlights emerging across multiple fields.

The rapid development of innovative industries stands out as a key feature. According to invoice data, the sales revenue of China’s high-tech industries rose by 16.1% year-on-year in the first two months. Among these, the sales revenue of high-tech service industries increased by 17.2% year-on-year, with scientific and technological intermediary services and natural science research and experimental development growing by 25.6% and 17.4% respectively. Meanwhile, the sales revenue of high-tech manufacturing industries climbed by 14.5% year-on-year.

Another prominent sign is the active flow of scientific and technological resources and factors. Invoice data shows that the sales revenue of China’s scientific research and technology service industries surged by 23.6% year-on-year in the first two months. Additionally, the sales revenue of intellectual property (patent)-intensive industries, which boast high technological content, rose by 12.8% year-on-year.

The integration of digital economy and real economy is also advancing at a fast pace. In the first two months, the amount of digital technology purchased by enterprises increased by 10.8% year-on-year, with manufacturing enterprises’ digital technology procurement growing by 16% year-on-year. The sales revenue of the core digital economy industries also rose by 10.8% year-on-year, among which the digital product manufacturing industry and digital technology application industry increased by 13.3% and 11.9% year-on-year respectively.

An academic noted that in the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, China’s scientific and technological innovation industry has demonstrated an overall characteristic of greater industrial vitality, smoother factor flow and deeper integration of digital and real economies, which reflects the continuous enhancement of the endogenous driving force of China’s innovation-driven development.