China is currently leading the technological competition around the world. ASPI says that Beijing has a “stunning lead” over the US in most important technologies.
A study released on Thursday by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) showed that China is the world leader in 37 of 44 critical and emerging technologies. The security think tank says that Beijing is now the world’s leading superpower in science and technology.
ASPI’s Critical Technology Tracker covers a wide range of important fields, including defence, space, robotics, energy, the environment, biotechnology, artificial intelligence (AI), advanced materials, and key quantum technology areas. In some fields, all of the top 10 research institutions in the world are in China, according to the report.
It also found that China is very good at making technologies for defence and space. ASPI said that in August 2021, US intelligence was surprised by China’s progress on hypersonic missiles that could carry nuclear warheads.
It said that China had produced 48.49% of the world’s high-impact research papers on advanced aircraft engines, including hypersonics, over the past five years.
The US State Department paid for the study, which found that the US was often second in this race, even though it led the world in research on high-performance computing, quantum computing, and vaccines. “Our dataset shows that there is a big difference between China and the US, which are the top two countries, and everyone else,” the report said.
The report’s conclusion was that “Western democracies are losing the global technology race, including the race for scientific and research breakthroughs.” It called on these governments to put more money into research.
