Figures for China's basic-research spending should not be taken at face value (see W. Yang Nature 534, 467–469; 2016). Before comparing gross expenditure on research and development (R&D) with that in developed countries, China's official statistics first need bringing into line with international standards for collecting and reporting R&D costs (see go.nature.com/2ab54rh).

Unlike most other countries, China's government has no official system for assessing R&D expenditure. These costs are instead embedded in the overall costs for science and technology (see Y. Sun and C. Cao Science 345, 1006–1008; 2014). And China's R&D statistics exclude salaries for university faculty members and postdocs — a significant component of R&D expenditure in other countries. Capital spending on big facilities and their operation budgets, known as fixed R&D costs in many Western countries, are not counted. For instance, only about US$18 million of the $200 million spent on the first construction phase of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility was designated as an R&D cost (see go.nature.com/2alwvbc).

Based on such considerations, China probably spent about double the official figure of 4.7% of its total R&D budget on basic research in 2013, as quoted by Yang. This is still significantly less than Japan or the United States.