China has dramatically increased investment in research and development (R&D) in the past four years, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

The State invested 168.9 billion yuan in scientific development last year, 2.1 times that in 2002, when the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was convened, according to an NBS report.

That amount accounts for 4.2 percent of the country's overall fiscal expenditure, the highest level since 2000, it said.

Non-government investment in scientific R&D has also increased fast, signaling the heightened attention being paid to the cause of science and technology, the report said.

In 2006, non-government social investment in R&D totaled 300.3 billion yuan, 2.3 times that in 2002. Per capita social R&D funding was 228 yuan last year, 2.3 times that in 2002.

These figures show more social resources have been put into scientific development since the country released the national blueprint for mid- and long-term scientific and technological development for the 2006-20 period, the report said.

The blueprint, fruit of painstaking efforts by China's top scientists and policymakers, has put in place specific targets for the country's scientific development in the coming years.

Following the blueprint, Chinese researchers have made a series of breakthroughs in various fields, the report said. Among these were the successful launches of manned spacecraft in 2003 and 2005.

China has also achieved solid progress in sectors such as IT, energy technology, high-performance computers, modern agriculture, microelectronics, equipment and new materials, the report said.

Such progress has been backed up by increased investment. In the basic research sector, for example, the national investment in 2006 amounted to 15.6 billion yuan, 2.1 times that in 2002.

The State fiscal support for basic research has also increased rapidly, helping improve China's ability in scientific innovation, the report said.

China's hi-tech industry, backed by strengthened R&D abilities, has become a new growth engine for the economy, the report said, its rapid growth contributing to the economic restructuring.