China's spending on research and development (R&D) rose last year, yet the figure is still less than that of developed nations, a survey showed Monday.

China spent 580.21 billion yuan (87.4 billion U.S. dollars) on R&D in 2009, 6.5 times the investment in 2000, according to a survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and five other ministries.

It was equivalent to 1.7 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), up 0.8 percentage points from the level in 2000, the NBS said in a statement. The figure for developed countries is above 2 percent on average.

Experimental research got 82.7 percent of the investment, fundamental research received 4.7 percent, while applied sciences got 12.6 percent.

The manufacturing sector was the leader in the R&D , whose expenditure on the R&D accounted for 61.6 percent of the total, the survey showed.

According to the government's 11th five-year (2006-2010) development plan, China aims to increase its R&D spending to 2 percent of GDP by the end of 2010.

(Xinhua News Agency November 23, 2010)