BEIJING — China Development Bank (CDB), one of the country's major policy banks, granted a total of 70 billion yuan (about $10.99 billion) of special loans last year to facilitate scientific innovation and basic research.

The loans were offered to support major national scientific innovation projects, pursuits of breakthroughs in core technologies, cutting-edge basic research, applied research and the application of scientific and technological achievements, according to the CDB.

The loans were part of a special lending scheme, which was set up in March last year and is expected to provide up to 300 billion yuan of loans for scientific innovation and research in the 2021-2025 period.

The CDB said it will improve financial services for eligible tech firms and provide them with long-term funding, as basic research usually takes a longer time, requires more funds but lacks collateral.