Much headway was made in scientific research and development, and industrialization of research results. At the end of 2001, the State-owned enterprises and institutions nationwide had 28.87 million professionals and technicians specialized in all disciplines. A total of 930,000 people were engaged in scientific and technological activities, including 700,000 scientists and engineers. In 2001, R&D expenditures in China totaled 96 billion yuan, up 7.1 percent over 2000, of which, the outlay for basic research reached 4.7 billion yuan. In the year, the State organized 647 key technological innovation projects and 1,329 projects for trial production of national-level major new products. The research and development of 80 items of key technical equipment was completed and passed appraisal and proof-test. Another 220 major special and demonstration projects for high-tech industrialization were put underway. The year 2001 witnessed 28,376 scientific and technological achievements at and above ministry or provincial level. These included 1,854 achievements in the research of basic theories, 24,966 results in applied technologies and 1,556 results for soft science. A total of 203,582 domestic and foreign patent applications were received, of which 114,252 patents were certified, an increase of 19.3 and 8.5 percent respectively. In 2001, a total of 240,000 technology transfer contracts were signed, involving a transaction volume of 80 billion yuan, up 23 percent over 2000.

Further improvement was made in comprehensive technical service. At the end of 2001, China had 5,500 product quality inspection institutions, including 233 national inspection centers. Authorized institutions conducted selective examinations of 9,858 kinds of products in 211 categories from 8,166 enterprises. There were 79 quality certification institutions, including 29 product certification institutions, which provided product certification service to 20,000 enterprises nationwide. There were also 4,939 legal measurement inspection institutions and compulsory verification tests were made on 32.34 million sets of measuring instruments. A total of 1,045 national standards were formulated or amended, including 497 new standards. There were 841 urban and rural weather forecast transmission stations, 319 satellite cloud picture receiving stations, 1,245 seismic stations and 28 seismic remote sensing stations and networks. There were also 917 ocean observation and monitoring stations. Surveying and mapping departments published 1,187 kinds of maps and 327 titles of books.

Land and resources survey and geological prospecting discovered 176 large and medium-sized orefields. Newly verified reserves were added to 42 minerals, including 700 million tons of oil, 430.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas, and 1.6 billion tons of coal. China's 31 geological environmental monitoring stations successfully forecasted 195 geological disasters.