Abstract:Strengthening basic research is the strategic direction pointed out by the party"s 19th National Congress for China"s construction of innovative country. In the perspective of international comparison, this paper conducted an in-depth analysis of China"s basic research from the three levels of basic characteristics, funding system, and public policy to clarify the key directions driving China"s basic research. The study found that the basic characteristics of basic research in China are that the level of basic research does not match the level of economic development, the motivation of basic research in enterprises is insufficient, and the regional differences in basic research are significant. In terms of funding system, the mainly source of basic research funding is the national science and technology financial funds, and the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China are responsible for funding the main basic research programs, but there may be repeated funding for each funding plan. The characteristics of public policies are that the people"s governments at all levels are the main body of policy formulation, and the short-term, medium-term and long-term goals of basic research and development are clearly defined. The policies focuses on platform construction, financial support, personnel training, open cooperation, institutional mechanism innovation, scientific research environmental improvement and other aspects.