After declining for seven consecutive quarters, China's GDP grew in the fourth quarter of 2012, the steady rise of GDP exceeded 50 trillion yuan in 2012. However, China's economic growth rate of 7.8% in 2012 was at its lowest level in nearly 11 years. China's National Bureau of Statistics announced on the 18th that according to the preliminary estimates, China's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2012 was 51.9322 trillion yuan. Based on comparable prices, year-on-year growth was at 7.8%, which was 1.5 % lower than the previous year. The first quarter grew by 8.1%, the second by 7.6%, the third by 7.4% and the fourth quarter by 7.9%.

The State Council held on executive meeting on the 16th to discuss and pass the Medium to Long Term Plan of Major Scientific and Technological Infrastructure Construction (2012-2030)". The Plan set a clear direction for China's major scientific and technological infrastructure development in the next 20 years and set clear development priorities in the 12th Five-Year-Plan period. The next 20 years will see acceleration in infrastructure construction for China's major science and technology development, focusing in energy, life science, the Earth system and the environment, materials, particle physics and nuclear physics, space and astronomy, and engineering sciences.

The Chinese delegation announced at the third plenary meeting of the International Renewable Energy Agency on the 13th that China will officially join the International Renewable Energy Agency this year, with the aim to promote the establishment of the Global Renewable Energy Market through the strengthening of cooperation between countries in the field of energy technologies. According to the report of the International Renewable Energy Agency, in 2011, China invested US$ 52.2 billion in the development of renewable energy, an increase of 17% from the same period of last year, accounting for 58.5% of the total annual investment in developing countries.