Tech R&D spending up 10.6 percent in 2016

Expenditure accounted for 2.11 percent of last year's total GDP

China's expenditure on technology research and development rose 10.6 percent to 1.57 trillion yuan ($238.1 billion) in 2016, the fastest annual growth since 2014, as the nation increases its investment in new driving forces to stabilize the economy.

The data was released by the National Bureau of Statistics on its website on Tuesday, saying the growth rate rebounded for the first time after declining for four-year straight drop. It was 8.9 percent in 2015 and 9.9 percent in 2014.