China's research and development (R&D) spending intensity, or the expenditure on R&D as a percentage of its gross domestic product (GDP), built up to 2.44 percent in 2021, according to a yearly statistical bulletin.

The rate, jumping from 1.91 percent in 2012, ranks the top among developing countries and is higher than the European Union's average level, said Liu Huifeng, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development.

In 2021, China invested 2.8 trillion yuan (about $405 billion) in R&D, rising 14.6 percent over that of 2020. Among it, over 2 trillion yuan, or nearly 77 percent, was funded by enterprises, according to the country's R&D bulletin in 2021 released on Wednesday.

China's R&D spending from the corporate sector was the second largest in the world last year, said Liu.

The country's investment in basic research in 2021 totalled 181.7 billion yuan, a 23.9-percent year-on-year increase, shows the bulletin. It accounted for 6.5 percent of the overall R&D spending, maintaining a 6-plus percentage growth for three consecutive years.

Provincially, the R&D spending in Guangdong, Jiangsu, Beijing and Zhejiang stood in the first echelon, exceeding 200 billion yuan each.

A slew of provinces in central and western China, including Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan and Henan, rose to the 100-billion-yuan club in R&D spending, according to the bulletin. 

In 2022, the country is expected to spend more than 3 trillion yuan on R&D in total, Liu noted.

(With input from Xinhua)