The United States remains the world’s largest investor in R&D, but it will not be long before China becomes the leader, said Marcia McNutt, president of the US National Academy of Sciences, while delivering a state of science address in Washington on July 10, the Hong Kong edition of the South China Morning Post reports.
The United States spent $806 billion on R&D and China $668 billion in 2021, McNutt said, but China’s investment rate is twice that of the United States.
Since the end of World War II, the United States has dominated the field of science and technology, accounting for nearly 60 percent, he said. Meanwhile, China is rapidly catching up with the United States in both the quantity and quality of published papers, with China doubling the number of patents filed by the United States in 2021.
According to McNutt, the United States has become “exclusively dependent” of international students in science, technology, engineering and math fields, including from China and India, most of whom remain to work in the United States. McNutt recommended protecting American leadership in science by strengthening its own engineering education in secondary schools and developing a domestic scientific workforce.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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