The latest news is that China has overtaken Europe for the first time in R&D intensity. It now has USA and Japan in its sight. Will it ever catch up with either of these countries? If so, how long will it take to catch up with USA or Japan?
http://www.nature.com/news/china-tops-europe-in-rd-intensity-1.14476?goback=%2Egde_4574033_member_5826873197353529348#%21
Research intensity and funding is one thing, but I believe there is much more that needs to be considered. For example, what is more interesting to me is when will they be "recognized" as world leaders in research. They are already producing great work, but are they being recognized for it? As an example, I note that for a long time Chinese students have left the country to go to grad school. Many return with newly acquired knowledge. It will be interesting to see if / when large numbers of graduate students from other countries want to go to China to learn techniques and return to their own countries afterwards. Also, I wonder if a lesser number of Chinese students are already leaving China and choosing to do grad studies at home.
The extent of funding China has been putting towards research in the recent years is phenomenal and clearly demonstrate the need for more funding for research in other countries. I guess, at the current rate of funding and activities, China will catch up with the US in R&D intensity in 5-10 years and become No 2, while getting even more closer to Japan as No1.
China is sitting pretty on 3.3 trillion USD reserves.. if they pump even a decimal fraction of this into their R&D, they can be #1 within 2020.
Research intensity and funding is one thing, but I believe there is much more that needs to be considered. For example, what is more interesting to me is when will they be "recognized" as world leaders in research. They are already producing great work, but are they being recognized for it? As an example, I note that for a long time Chinese students have left the country to go to grad school. Many return with newly acquired knowledge. It will be interesting to see if / when large numbers of graduate students from other countries want to go to China to learn techniques and return to their own countries afterwards. Also, I wonder if a lesser number of Chinese students are already leaving China and choosing to do grad studies at home.
@Mark...
May not be recognized in terms of Nobel or some big prizes.. but these days there are hardly any papers without citing atleast 10-15 Chinese authored papers, especially in fields like graphene, materials science etc.. In Materials Science, the Dragon has definitely risen and roaring.
China has started a scheme called "returning scholar's program".. many chinese with western Ph.Ds are returning back to China..
Yes, there are some foreign grad students in Chinese universities like Tsinghua or Beijing Univ....but language is a huge barrier.. and it will take some time to bridge this.
I've recently moved to Tsinghua University in Beijing, China for my postdoctoral fellowship after completing my PhD from University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. My current and previous research area can broadly be categorized within nanotechnology. Since this is a personal comment, I will not elaborate further publicly; however, I would be willing to discuss further privately in case any one is interested in conducting research in high-tech areas in China. The point is ..... people are coming here from more developed countries and the Chinese government is encouraging highly qualified professionals to move here.
An interesting article on Wall Street Journal today, "The Rise of China's Innovation Machine".
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303819704579320544231396168?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303819704579320544231396168.html
Another report confirms China's rapid rise in research performance:
http://www.nature.com/news/china-becomes-world-s-third-largest-producer-of-research-articles-1.14684?WT.ec_id=NEWS-20140211
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