China’s R&D investment grew by 8.2 per cent last year – fuelled by double-digit growth in fundamental science and university funding – in sharp contrast with deep budget cuts across the US research sector. Total investment in research and experimental development crossed 3.9 trillion yuan (US$583 billion) in 2025, “maintaining a trajectory of steady growth”, the National Bureau of Statistics said when releasing the data on Friday. State news agency Xinhua noted on Friday that in the five years...

Leading life scientist Wu Jun, who recently left the United States to return to his homeland, believes many of the world’s top embryo researchers are now working in China. Wu, well known for his stem cell research, particularly related to the stem cell-derived embryo model, is speaking in an office at Westlake University, in Hangzhou in the eastern province of Zhejiang. Some of his belongings remain in bags placed haphazardly on a nearby cabinet, waiting to be unpacked. “This is just a temporary...