China R&D Spending Matches US Levels

A March 2026 report indicates China's research and development investment has reached parity with the United States. The report notes that the long-standing US technological advantage, built over 80 years through federal laboratory investment and research universities, is no longer stable. This shift follows decades of continuous public investment in the American scientific ecosystem. China's total scientific research paper output exceeded the US in 2024 for the first time since 1948. According to the Nature Index, China's output in high-level academic journals leads the US by 17%. The report highlights China's growing scale in innovation and institutional research output as of 2024. This shift marks the first time a nation has challenged US dominance in total research volume in the post-WWII era. The shift is attributed to declining US investment in basic and open science alongside tightening international research exchanges. Analysts warn that the US faces a risk of degrading research absorption capabilities and decaying infrastructure. The US Information Technology and Innovation Foundation provided estimates regarding this shift in global scientific leadership. The findings were highlighted in an article by Professor Caroline Wagner of Ohio State University published on an international academic review site. The country also maintains the world's largest share of high-impact research papers.