On October 29th, the research group of the Social Science and Culture Department of the National Bureau of Statistics released the calculation results of the 2024 China Innovation Index, which showed that the China Innovation Index in 2024 was 174.2 (compared to 100 in 2015), an increase of 5.3% over the previous year. Looking at different fields, the innovation environment index, innovation input index, innovation output index, and innovation effectiveness index are 186.0, 162.6, 215.8, and 132.4, respectively, an increase of 4.9%, 5.1%, 8.1%, and 1.9% compared to the previous year. China's scientific and technological innovation capability continues to improve. It is worth noting that among the 18 evaluation indicators in these four sub fields, the index of high-value invention patents per 10000 RD (Research and Experimental Development) personnel and the index of the proportion of science and engineering graduates among the eligible population have maintained rapid growth, with growth rates exceeding 10% for three consecutive years. The trend of China's Innovation Index indicates that the innovation environment in our country continues to improve, innovation investment continues to increase, innovation output grows rapidly, innovation effectiveness steadily improves, and the foundation of a strong science and technology country continues to be consolidated, providing solid support for high-quality development. ”Lin Mei, a statistician from the Social Sciences and Literature Department of the National Bureau of Statistics, explained. The innovation environment in our country continues to improve, as evidenced by the growth of all five evaluation indicators in this field. For example, the R&D expense deduction policy incentivizes more companies to continue their innovation activities. In 2024, the number of enterprises benefiting from the additional deduction and exemption policies in industrial enterprises above designated size reached 137000, an increase of 11.1% over the previous year; The number of undergraduate and above graduates in science, engineering, agriculture, and medicine in China reached 3.145 million, an increase of 172000 from the previous year, accounting for 50.7%. The reserve of high-quality R&D talents has become an important force supporting China's scientific and technological innovation. Increasing investment in basic research is an important foundation for enhancing original innovation capabilities. In 2024, China's basic research budget reached 250.9 billion yuan, an increase of 10.7% over the previous year, continuing the rapid growth trend of more than double digits, accounting for 6.88% of RD funding, setting a historical high. As innovation investment continues to increase and basic research investment increases, the dominant position of enterprises in scientific and technological innovation remains stable. In 2024, the contribution rate of enterprises to the growth of R&D funds in the whole society will reach 77.1%, which is the main force driving the growth of R&D funds in China. Among them, the RD budget for industrial enterprises above designated size was 2254.77 billion yuan, an increase of 7.5% over the previous year. Among industrial enterprises above designated size, 303000 enterprises have carried out technological innovation activities, accounting for 60.6%. The rapid growth of innovation output and the improvement of output quality have become a major highlight of this innovation index. In 2024, the number of invention patents authorized in China was 1.045 million, an increase of 13.5% over the previous year. As of the end of 2024, the number of high-value invention patents in China has reached 1.978 million, accounting for 42.2% of the valid invention patents in the country; A total of 92000 industrial enterprises above designated size have registered trademarks, an increase of 13.7% over the previous year. The technology market effectively promotes the transfer and transformation of scientific and technological achievements by building a supply and demand docking platform. ”Lin Mei introduced that in 2024, the number of technology market contracts in China reached 994000, with a total transaction amount of 6.8 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.1% and 11.2% respectively over the previous year; The average amount of completed contracts was 6.876 million yuan, an increase of 377000 yuan from the previous year, and the quality and efficiency of technology transfer continued to improve. At the same time, the effectiveness of innovation is steadily improving, and new driving forces for development are accelerating their convergence. The five evaluation indicators in the field of innovation effectiveness in China show three increases, one level, and one decrease. In 2024, the labor productivity of all employees in China will be 173898 yuan/person, an increase of 4.9% over the previous year. Technological progress and optimization of resource allocation have effectively driven the improvement of production efficiency and further enhanced the endogenous driving force of economic growth. In 2024, the added value of China's "three new" economy will be 24.3 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.7% over the previous year, accounting for 18.01% of GDP. Relying on the research and development achievements of new products, the sales of new products have steadily increased. In 2024, China's industrial enterprises above designated size achieved a sales revenue of 35.5 trillion yuan from new products, an increase of 3.9% over the previous year. (New Society)