China set to pass US on research and development spending by 2025
- China has been increasing expenditure at an annual rate of 16 per cent while the US has stagnated, according to a US think tank
- Chinese premier Li Keqiang has vowed to boost spending on basic research and there are also plans to develop fields such as AI and quantum information
China’s spending on research and development is on track to exceed the United States by 2025, according to new research.
Meanwhile, the US has greatly underinvested in science and innovation, possibly impairing people’s standards of living, health, national competitiveness and capacity to respond to crises, the paper from the Aspen Institute, a Washington think tank, said.
“If China implements its current five-year plan, it will soon exceed the United States in total R&D expenditure,” author Benjamin Jones, a professor of entrepreneurship and strategy at Northwestern University in Illinois, said.
“China has massively increased its science and innovation investments in pursuit of leading the world economically and strengthening its hand in global affairs.”
China’s R&D expenditure has grown 16 per cent annually since 2000, compared with 3 per cent in the US, according to Jones.
Meanwhile, US public expenditure on R&D as a share of GDP is at the lowest level in the last 60 years, he said. Overall, the US has spent an average of 2.8 per cent of GDP on R&D over the past decade.