China Is Rapidly Overtaking the United States as the World’s Scientific Superpower

U.S. science funding and staffing have been sharply reduced under the Trump administration, including cuts to grants and agency scientists.

China has increased public R&D spending and produces roughly twice as many STEM degrees and nearly double the PhDs of the U.S.

Experts expect China’s share of top natural-science papers to surpass the U.S. by 2026, and China pledged to raise R&D spending by at least 7% over five years.