BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) — China’s science and technology sector has witnessed historic, holistic and structural changes over the past decade, an official said on Thursday.

“China has fully integrated into the global innovation network, and its sci-tech development demonstrates the sector’s overall layout and development trend with the characteristics of the new era,” Li Meng, vice minister of science and technology, said at a press conference.

In 2021, China’s spending on R&D was 2.7 times its 2012 level, hitting a new high of 2.44 percent of its GDP, and its basic research expenditure was 3.4 times its 2012 level, Li said.

China rose to 12th on the Global Innovation Index 2021, up from the 34th in 2012, making it the only country in the world to achieve a sustained and rapid rise, Li said.

Over the past decade, China’s scientific research level and its overall strength in sci-tech disciplines have been greatly enhanced, with some disciplines reaching internationally leading levels, Li said. And much self-developed advanced equipment and many self-developed systems have been put into use, effectively promoting the rapid industrial upgrade.

China’s sci-tech development has become the primary driving force supporting and leading the country’s high-quality economic development and the improvement of its people’s livelihoods, Li said.