BEIJING - China's spending on research and development (R&D) in 2012 is expected to surpass 1 trillion yuan ($160.8 billion) as the country has been pushing for a more innovation-driven economy, according to official statistics released Saturday.

The expenditure will bring the proportion of R&D funds in the country's gross domestic output to 2 percent, Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang said at a national science and technology work conference.

Businesses invested the most in R&D, accounting for 74 percent of the total, according to official statistics.

Wan said that China's innovation capability has been greatly boosted in the past five years, with scientific progress contributing 51.7 percent to the nation's economic growth in 2011, compared with 48.8 percent in 2008.

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