U.S. R&D Remains Healthy Despite Competition from Asia

electronics360.globalspec.com...

U.S. R&D Remains Healthy Despite Competition from Asia
10 February 2014

U.S. predominance in science and technology eroded further during the last decade, as China and South Korea rapidly increased their innovation capacities.

Despite that erosion, the U.S. continues to invest twice as much as any other single nation in R&D, while slipping to 10th in world ranking of the percentage of its GDP it devotes to R&D. In 2011, the U.S. spent $429 billion on R&D compared to China's $208 billion and Japan's $146 billion.

The evidence is reported in the National Science Board’s (NSB) 2014 report Science and Engineering Indicators. Its conclusion is that the U.S., Japan and Europe no longer monopolize the global R&D arena.

China tripled its number of researchers between 1995 and 2008, whereas South Korea doubled its number between 1995 and 2006. And there are indications that students from these nations may be finding more opportunities for advanced education in science and employment in their home countries.

"The first decade of the 21st century continues a dramatic shift in the global scientific landscape," said NSB Chairman Dan Arvizu. "Emerging economies understand the role science and innovation play in the global marketplace and in economic competitiveness and have increasingly placed a priority on building their capacity in science and technology."

In addition, the size of China's high-tech manufacturing industry increased nearly six-fold between 2003 and 2012, raising its global share of high-tech manufacturing from 8 percent to 24 percent during that decade, closing in on the U.S. share of 27 percent.

The major Asian economies, taken together, now perform a larger share of global R&D than the U.S., and China performs nearly as much of the world's high-tech manufacturing as the U.S., according to the report.

What’s more, emerging economies now invest more in clean energy than advanced economies. In 2012, emerging economies invested nearly $100 billion in clean energy, primarily wind and solar, with China serving as the "primary driver of investment" with $61 billion. China's investment is more than double the $29 billion spent in the U.S.

The 2014 volume of Science and Engineering Indicators is available at www.nsf.gov/statistics/indicators/.

At this rate, CHINA would surpass US in terms of investment in R&D and tech by around 2020 if not sooner!

Despite US R&D remaining 'healthy' for the meantime, its lead in in sci & tech is definitely shrinking already:

www.nsf.gov...

reply to post by gardener


This seems more of case of China and others finally catching up, than the end of U.S. technological dominance.

reply to post by Antonio1


not totally sure where you have been but... in terms of technological dominance... it simply doesn't exist, and has not existed for about the last decade.

No offense but by your use of exclamation points you seem to be pro China. Which is fine but be advised and know that is only what they will release to the public and doesn't take into account Military Black Budget projects in the works for decades. I'm well aware of the fact that others like Russia and China etc have their own. So, if this is about 'Science and Tech' alone and not a political statement keep in mind 'Consumer Electronics' aren't really an accurate measure of true 'High Tech'

reply to post by SLAYER69


No offense, but only Westerners equate spending totals with productivity or output.

If you want to see where R&D will be in the future, look at where Uni graduates are today.

Global Share of Uni Grads
2010:
China: 18%
USA: 14%

2020 (based on current trends):
China: 29%
USA: 11%

China can afford to "spend less" because they are spending better. They are investing in the building blocks, not throwing money at existing infrastructure, expecting massive increases in output. Sadly...they are doing nothing more then emulating what the West 'used' to do...

peck420
No offense

None Taken

but only Westerners equate spending totals with productivity or output.

You missed the premise of my reply. I was referring to what is NOT known publicly. Not how much was being spent.

SLAYER69
You missed the premise of my reply. I was referring to what is NOT known publicly. Not how much was being spent.

Ah yes, the great mythological,hidden US super tech.

If we are going to include the mythological, should we debate whether a Chinese dragon is stronger then her European cousin?

reply to post by peck420


What percentage of Chinese grads with advance degrees go work for USA and what percentage of Americans with advance degrees go work for China?

IMO It's doesn't matter the number of degrees being pumped out its where they end up working for that matters. US hires from all over the world to more than make up the shortage. We hire Muslims,Nazis,Communist,N Koreans,Russians,Iranian,etc, as long as you are among the top.

In addition The trend I have noticed it's better and cheaper to let someone else take the risk on their dime with R&D. Then have the money to only buy the successful ones and minimize failures.

The only true indicator of technology is global dominance.

peck420
Ah yes, the great mythological,hidden US super tech.

Are you purposely being dense or trying to be witty? In my original post I mentioned that 'Russia and China' among others have 'Black Projects' Unless you're saying they don't have 'great mythical' *as you put research* black projects going as well?

Well I think it is more of pointing out that the very notion that military tech is '10 years ahead' of consumer tech is more about propaganda and keeping the public happy with a sense of 'we are the best' than actual technology existing.

I read a post on ATS where someone said "OH i heard the had iPads in the late 80s" Now I know that doesn't mean an actual iPad, but more of a device LIKE one. When all said and done, that is quite frankly not anywhere near true.

Military Tech can be more advanced than consumer tech, THAT much is given, but a sense of realism is in order. There is a lot of weird and wonderful tech developed for military use that do not have any form of consumer application which is of course likely 10 years ahead of the nearest consumer equivalent but that really is not the average.

For all the technology and mite of the US, did you know that the US doesn't have the industry to build a nuclear reactor containment vessel? They have to buy them elsewhere. Yes while the knowledge and how to do it might have partially been developed in the US, there retention and control/dominance over the tech is often not as polarized as you might think.

furthermore, the amount of Chinese graduates that do their degrees and study in Europe is a large amount, and most of these graduates are contracted by government to return to China. The amount of them that are free to do as they please is not 100%

peck420

SLAYER69
You missed the premise of my reply. I was referring to what is NOT known publicly. Not how much was being spent.

Ah yes, the great mythological,hidden US super tech.

If we are going to include the mythological, should we debate whether a Chinese dragon is stronger then her European cousin?

Nothing mythological about it. It is fact that our black budget spending produces products that is years beyond other nation China included. Just look at the SR71 we produced that in the 60's and still there is no other plane that can match it.

Great Britain - Bristol 188 experimental aircraft that looks strikingly like the SR-71... developed throughout the 50s first flight a couple of years ahead of the SR-71. Didn't achieve the specs the SR-71 had, but the technological differences are not vast.

The USSR was developing a similar spec'd aircraft though they never got a prototype off of the ground.

What about LCD displays, they have a long history, with liquid crystals being discovered way way back in the 1800s much of the development of the technology was done by Malvern, a company in the UK, back in the late 60s researching technology that could be used to make Tanks lighter (to get rid of the big CRTs that would go into them)


I would never say that there was or is no technological edge depending on the field... but the edge is really only that, it is NOT that massive a cut. The second notion, or impression I also get is the general air of American superiority, where despite little to no life experience knowledge of other nations, their education systems, their industries and expertise, the average person will gladly lap up the idea that the US is a technological wonder of the world, leader in all things and everywhere else is a relative wasteland.

(I am not accusing anyone here to have views as extreme as that, but there is a big whiff of it on occasion) Yep back in the 60-70s the US was the basic playground for the best tech in the world... but that has massively diminished and throughout the 80s onwards everyone else has reached a level playing field for the most part.

Anyway on topic I think that the subject is reflected already in the above statement. It is more of a "Hey we are not lagging behind, so that is good" and no amount of dreaming of yesteryear will really change that.