A visitor touches an automated hand at an exhibition during the second CIIE in Shanghai on Nov 6, 2019. (Photo: Zhu Xingxin/chinadaily.com.cn)

China has seen a continuous increase in the commercialization and transformation of scientific achievements, with trading contracts reaching a record high last year, a recent report shows.

The report, published by the National Center for Science & Technology Evaluation and Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China, summarized the data of 3,200 universities and research institutes across the country, analyzing their progress and experiences in commercializing scientific results.

The report shows in 2018, the 3,200 institutes signed 11,302 contracts worth 17.73 billion yuan ($2.5 billion), a year-on-year increase of 52.2 percent.

The average value of the contracts has also gone up significantly, to 1.57 million yuan. This is an increase of 42.6 percent year-on-year, showing the quality of scientific achievements has been much improved. More than 30 institutes have reached deals worth over 100 million yuan, rising 14.3 percent year-on-year.

The report also shows researchers have received higher cash and equity awards from the commercialization, and that deepened cooperation between enterprises, universities and research institutes have driven innovation and development to a greater extent.