Basic research is the origin of the entire scientific system. Shanghai, with the aim to build an international scientific and technological innovation center, is taking the lead in the sector.
In 2025, the city's research and development funding is equivalent to around 4.5 percent of its total GDP. Basic research has taken 12% of the total spending, reaching 9.25 billion yuan, about $1.36 billion.
The funding in basic research has tripled in the past six years, and produced more results. In the first three months of 2026, scientists from Shanghai have published 54 papers on in the three top international academic journals—Science, Nature, and Cell, accounting for 34.2% of the country's total.
Major breakthroughs in basic research emerged frequently. For example, researcher Lin Hongxuan from CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences has cloned the heat‑tolerant genes in rice and helped significantly reduce the yield losses caused by high‑temperature, which is more often due to climate change. And breeding companies are now working with the team to nurture heat-tolerant seed for mass use.