June 4, 2021
USA has been the leader in world of science and technology, and China still has long way
to go to achieve its goal in the 3 step strategies to become “a world power of science
technology and innovation by 2050”. Recent data indicate subtle changes in the balance
of power:
First is the data of R&D input. According to “R&D World” in USA (top graph), the R&D expenditure
of China will be UDS$ 621 billion (PPP) in 2021, exceeding that of USA (US$ 599 billion). China
reported its R&D expenditure in 2020 as RMB 2.44 trillion, almost same as the GDP of Thailand in
the same year. R&D accounted for 2.4% of GDP of China in 2020, and the ratio is expected to
grow in the next five years, as the 14th five year plan (2021-2025) of China set the growth rate of
R&D expenditure to be 7% per year.
Second is the data of R&D output in terms of patents and publication of scientific papers.
According to WIPO under UN (bottom graph), China led USA for the first time in history in terms of
patent application in 2019. Three of the top 10 applicants in the world are from China: Huawei
(No.1), Oppo (No.5) and Ping An Technology (No.8). According to the National Institute of Science
and Technology Policy in Japan, the China’s share of publication of scientific papers in the world
from 2016-2018 is 19.9%, compared with 18.3% in USA.
It is true these macro data may not fully reflect the competitiveness of key technologies in specific
domains. But the data reveals the limitation and limpness of a policy to isolate China in the world
of science and technology as promoted by some politicians in USA.
