BEIJING -- The China Innovation Index, a barometer of the country's innovation capability, rose steadily in 2024, official data showed on Wednesday.

The index increased by 5.3 percent from the 2023 level to 174.2 last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The innovation environment continued to improve, featuring increasing innovation investment, rapidly growing innovation output and strengthening driving forces for the economy, the NBS said.

The country's spending on basic research climbed 10.7 percent from a year earlier to 250.09 billion yuan ($35.3 billion) in 2024, maintaining a rapid, double-digit growth streak, official data revealed. The share of basic research in total R&D spending reached a record high of 6.88 percent last year.

Notably, the number of invention patents granted in China increased by 13.5 percent year on year to reach 1.05 million in 2024.

Official data showed that the innovation push is reshaping China's economic landscape. The "three new" economy, referring to new industries, new business formats and new business models, saw its added value account for 18.01 percent of China's total GDP in 2024, an increase of 0.43 percentage points from the previous year.