(Yicai Global) Sept. 9 -- China's top 1,000 private enterprises poured CNY1.08 trillion (USD160 billion) into research and development last year, as they play an increasingly important role in China's science and technology innovation, according to a new report by a leading Chinese chamber of commerce.

Private companies accounted for almost 39 percent of China’s total R&D spending and over half of that spent by private and state-owned businesses combined in 2021, according to the report released early this week by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.

It surveyed 8,600 private firms with revenues in excess of CNY500 million (USD71.9 million) each, using the top 1000 R&D spender’s data to support its argument.

Private enterprises are spearheading China's innovation process, according to the report. They already contribute 70 percent of the nation’s new developments in technology, while 90 percent of China’s high-tech companies are privately owned.

The government supports the participation of private firms in key tech research areas such as fifth-generation wireless networks, artificial intelligence, new materials, and high-end equipment, Tian Yulong, chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told the conference at which the report was released.

To further improve their competitiveness, the government encourages more private businesses to independently innovate, he added.

The top 1000 firms surveyed had more than 1.6 million R&D staff in total, with expenditure per capita as high as CNY652,200 (USD93,828), or CNY163,000 more than the national average, the report showed. Fifteen of them each spent over CNY10 billion (USD1.4 billion) on R&D.

At CNY529.8 billion (USD76.2 billion), non-state firms in next-generation information technology invested the most in R&D. That was nearly half of the entire CNY1.08 trillion that the top 1,000 private firms used on R&D. Spending in the advanced equipment manufacturing sector was as high as CNY450.4 billion, accounting for almost 42 percent of the headline figure.

The top five sectors by R&D outlays were: computers, communications and other electronic equipment manufacturing; internet and related services, ferrous metal smelting and pressing; electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing; and lastly, vehicle production.

More than 70 percent of the top 1,000 firms were headquartered in eastern China, and made up almost 87 percent of total R&D spending by the surveyed companies.

Guangdong province led with 89 enterprises on the list, accounting for 29.3 percent of the total spent, followed by Zhejiang province and Beijing.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi