China takes ‘stunning lead’ in key technological research
From artificial intelligence to robotics, China is beating Western democracies in research output on 37 out of 44 technological areas deemed critical for economic growth and military power over the coming decades, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) said in a recently released report.To get more china technology news, you can visit shine news official website.
By often producing more than five times as many highly cited research papers as its closest competitor — typically the United States — China is not only further ahead in more areas than previously realized but has also built the foundations to position itself as the world’s leading science and technology superpower, the Canberra-based think tank revealed.
This “sometimes stunning lead” stretches to critical domains, including defense, space, robotics, energy, the environment, advanced materials, AI and key quantum technology areas, according to the report’s authors, who tracked and analyzed the most-cited research publications in each of the 44 fields over the past five years.
“Western democracies are losing the global technological competition, including the race for scientific and research breakthroughs,” said the report, which was partly funded by the U.S. State Department.
A democratic country leads research output in only seven of the analyzed areas. That country in all instances is the U.S., with it topping the ranking in advanced semiconductors, quantum and high-performance computing, vaccines, small satellites, space launch systems and language processing.
ASPI’s dataset, available in its newly released Critical Technology Tracker, also reveals a large gap between the leading two countries and everyone else. It shows there is a small second-tier group of nations led by India and the United Kingdom, both of which claim a place in the top five in 29 of the 44 technologies. South Korea and Germany are next, appearing in the top five in 20 and 17 technologies, respectively.For some technologies, all of the world’s top 10 leading research institutions are based in China. Notably, the Chinese Academy of Sciences often ranks first or second across many of the 44 technologies.
The tracker, which does not cover classified research conducted by governments or private companies, shows that China excels in defense- and space-related technologies, including advanced aircraft engines, data gathering capabilities and drones.
“The world was shocked in October 2021 when it was revealed in media reports that the PRC (People’s Republic of China) had tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic glide vehicle,” wrote the authors of the report.
However, it shouldn’t have been. Over the past five years, China generated almost half the world’s most highly cited research papers into advanced aircraft engines, including hypersonics, and it hosts seven of the world’s top 10 research institutions in this area.
“Our surprise should have been even less had we also known that China is the global leader in other technological fields relevant to advancing hypersonic missiles,” they noted.
The authors say that China’s technological lead is the product of “deliberate design and long-term policy planning,” as repeatedly outlined by President Xi Jinping and his predecessors.
In the fields of photonic sensors and quantum communications, China’s research strength could result in it “going dark” to the surveillance of Western intelligence. This, ASPI said, reduces the capacity to plan for hostilities and tensions.