China Leads U.S. In Emerging Tech Race, Aussie Say

China has a big lead in 37 out of 44 emerging technologies as Western democracies lose a global race for research output, a security think tank said, after tracking defense, space, energy and biotechnology, Kirsty Needham reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: Western democracies are said to be losing the technological competition.

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) said its study showed that, in some fields, all of the world's top 10 research institutions are based in China.

The study, funded by the United States State Department (USAID), found the US was often second-ranked, although it led global research in high-performance computing, quantum computing, small satellites, and vaccines.

"Western democracies are losing the global technological competition, including the race for scientific and research breakthroughs," the report said, urging greater research investment by governments.

China had established a "stunning lead in high-impact research" under government programs. The report called for democratic nations to collaborate more often to create secure supply chains and "rapidly pursue a strategic critical technology step-up."

ASPI tracked the most-cited scientific papers, which it said are the most likely to result in patents. China's surprise breakthrough in hypersonic missiles in 2021 would have been identified earlier if China's strong research had been detected, it said.

"Over the past five years, China generated 48.49% of the world's high-impact research papers into advanced aircraft engines, including hypersonics, and it hosts seven of the world's top 10 research institutions," it said.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic