China: Conquering Global Science

China ranked 12th among the 132 economies featured in the Global Innovation Index 2023. China ranks 1st among the 33 upper-middle-income group economies and ranks 3rd among the 16 economies in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Oceania.

China's spending on research and development (R&D) has grown 16-fold since 2000. However, as of 2021, it still lagged behind the United States on overall R&D spending (China spent $668 billion, compared with $806 billion for the United States, at purchasing power parity).

China’s global lead extends to 37 out of 44 technologies. These cover a range of crucial technology fields spanning defense, space, robotics, energy, the environment, biotechnology, AI, advanced materials and key quantum technology areas.

Back in 2003, the United States produced 20 times more high-impact research papers than China. By 2013, the United States produced about four times the number. In 2022, China had surpassed both the United States and the entire European Union.

Creating world-class universities has been part of China’s scientific development plan. To that end, Chinese universities pay staff bonuses estimated at an average of $44,000 each – and as much as $165,000 if they have published in high-impact international journals.

China also offers incentives for scientists to return from abroad. One such initiative is the so-called “Youth Thousand Talents" program. It offers researchers under 40 one-off bonuses of up to 500,000 yuan (equivalent to approximately $150,000, at purchasing power parity).

China has now educated 2.5 times more of the top-tier AI researchers at the undergraduate level than the United States.

By 2025, Chinese universities are expected to produce nearly twice as many PhD graduates in science and technology as the United States.