From nano to computer to chemistry... China overtakes the US
Top 1% of scientific papers cited in the top 10 fields
reporter
Enter 2022.04.05 03:00
An analysis showed that China has surpassed the United States not only in the quantity but also in the quality of scientific papers . In the number of papers in the top 1% of the Citation Index, China surpassed the United States in all fields except life sciences and medicine. The Citation Index is an indicator of how many citations have been made in other papers, and is used to judge how good the research is.
The Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI) released a report on the 4th of the 'Global U.S.-China Science and Technology Competition Topographic Map' containing these details. KISTI divided the scientific fields into 10 categories and compared the number of papers from 2000 to 2019 and the number of papers in the top 1% of the citation index by field. The ten major fields are computer and information science, physics and astronomy, chemistry, life science, electrical and electronic engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, materials engineering, nanotechnology, and clinical medicine.
/Graphic = Park Sang-hoon
◇ Top 1% papers, twice as much as the US in 5 fields
In the number of scientific papers, China has already overtaken the United States five years ago. According to OECD statistics, China surpassed the United States in 2017 and the European Union (EU) in terms of paper volume in 2019, respectively. As of 2020, China published more than 660,000 papers a year, accounting for 21.2% of the world's academic literature. The EU and US share are 19.7% and 15.6%, respectively.
China surpassed the United States at the same time in the quality of scientific papers. According to KISTI, from 2000 to 2002 alone, the United States was overwhelmingly first in the number and quality of papers in all 10 fields. China stayed in the top five. However, from 2010 to 2012, China ranked second and third overall in both quantity and quality, chasing the chin of the United States. And from 2017 to 2019, in 8 of 10 scientific fields, it surpassed the top 1% of papers in the U.S. Citation Index, ranking first in the world. The share of the top 1% of papers in China's 2017-2019 Citation Index ranges from a minimum of 43.41% (physics and astronomy) to a maximum of 71.37% (nanotechnology).
In particular, in the number of top 1% papers in the Citation Index, China exceeded that of the United States in 5 out of 10 fields. Not only did the rankings change, but the gap widened significantly. These fields are chemistry, electrical and electronic engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, and nanotechnology, all of which are related to cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum, and semiconductors. Park Jin-seo, head of KISTI's Global R&D Analysis Center, said, "There has been talk of China as a quantitative threat to the United States for more than 10 years, but now the United States will feel a sense of crisis in terms of research performance."
Cost of R&D investment in the US and China
It is only in the life sciences and clinical medicine fields that China has not yet caught up with the US. The share of the top 1% papers in China's Citation Index was 22.86% in the life sciences, second with 11.69%, and the ninth place. The United States is number one in both fields.
◇Spending 700 trillion won into annual R&D
China's progress is attributable to the nation's large-scale investment in R&D to foster science. According to the Belfer Center, a think tank at Harvard Kennedy School of Public Administration, in 2000, China's annual R&D investment amounted to $30 billion , which was one-ninth of that of the United States ($270 billion). However, in 2020, it almost caught up with the United States ($640 billion) with $580 billion .
China is expanding investment in basic science as well as application fields such as manufacturing process development. At the National People's Congress in March last year, Premier Li Keqiang announced that he would focus on developing seven core technologies for AI, quantum, brain science, gene biotechnology, clinical medicine, integrated circuits, and deep-sea, space, and polar exploration. President Xi Jinping also directly mentioned the need for quantum technology development. The US National Science Foundation (NSF) analyzed that “the US invests 17% of its total R&D in basic science, while China focuses on developing new products and processes.”
So tactics also played a part. According to the Center for Security and Emerging Technologies at Georgetown University, the number of doctoral graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics at US and Chinese universities was 18,289 and 9038, respectively, in 2000. However, in 2019, the number of doctoral graduates in China reached 49,498, exceeding the number of American graduates of 33,759. As of 2019, the total number of researchers in China reached 2,09,459.
"China has become a serious competitor to the United States in quantum, AI, 5G, and semiconductors," said the Belfer Center at Harvard University.
Top 1% of scientific papers cited in the top 10 fields
reporter
Enter 2022.04.05 03:00
An analysis showed that China has surpassed the United States not only in the quantity but also in the quality of scientific papers . In the number of papers in the top 1% of the Citation Index, China surpassed the United States in all fields except life sciences and medicine. The Citation Index is an indicator of how many citations have been made in other papers, and is used to judge how good the research is.
The Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI) released a report on the 4th of the 'Global U.S.-China Science and Technology Competition Topographic Map' containing these details. KISTI divided the scientific fields into 10 categories and compared the number of papers from 2000 to 2019 and the number of papers in the top 1% of the citation index by field. The ten major fields are computer and information science, physics and astronomy, chemistry, life science, electrical and electronic engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, materials engineering, nanotechnology, and clinical medicine.
/Graphic = Park Sang-hoon
◇ Top 1% papers, twice as much as the US in 5 fields
In the number of scientific papers, China has already overtaken the United States five years ago. According to OECD statistics, China surpassed the United States in 2017 and the European Union (EU) in terms of paper volume in 2019, respectively. As of 2020, China published more than 660,000 papers a year, accounting for 21.2% of the world's academic literature. The EU and US share are 19.7% and 15.6%, respectively.
China surpassed the United States at the same time in the quality of scientific papers. According to KISTI, from 2000 to 2002 alone, the United States was overwhelmingly first in the number and quality of papers in all 10 fields. China stayed in the top five. However, from 2010 to 2012, China ranked second and third overall in both quantity and quality, chasing the chin of the United States. And from 2017 to 2019, in 8 of 10 scientific fields, it surpassed the top 1% of papers in the U.S. Citation Index, ranking first in the world. The share of the top 1% of papers in China's 2017-2019 Citation Index ranges from a minimum of 43.41% (physics and astronomy) to a maximum of 71.37% (nanotechnology).
In particular, in the number of top 1% papers in the Citation Index, China exceeded that of the United States in 5 out of 10 fields. Not only did the rankings change, but the gap widened significantly. These fields are chemistry, electrical and electronic engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, and nanotechnology, all of which are related to cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum, and semiconductors. Park Jin-seo, head of KISTI's Global R&D Analysis Center, said, "There has been talk of China as a quantitative threat to the United States for more than 10 years, but now the United States will feel a sense of crisis in terms of research performance."
Cost of R&D investment in the US and China
It is only in the life sciences and clinical medicine fields that China has not yet caught up with the US. The share of the top 1% papers in China's Citation Index was 22.86% in the life sciences, second with 11.69%, and the ninth place. The United States is number one in both fields.
◇Spending 700 trillion won into annual R&D
China's progress is attributable to the nation's large-scale investment in R&D to foster science. According to the Belfer Center, a think tank at Harvard Kennedy School of Public Administration, in 2000, China's annual R&D investment amounted to $30 billion , which was one-ninth of that of the United States ($270 billion). However, in 2020, it almost caught up with the United States ($640 billion) with $580 billion .
China is expanding investment in basic science as well as application fields such as manufacturing process development. At the National People's Congress in March last year, Premier Li Keqiang announced that he would focus on developing seven core technologies for AI, quantum, brain science, gene biotechnology, clinical medicine, integrated circuits, and deep-sea, space, and polar exploration. President Xi Jinping also directly mentioned the need for quantum technology development. The US National Science Foundation (NSF) analyzed that “the US invests 17% of its total R&D in basic science, while China focuses on developing new products and processes.”
So tactics also played a part. According to the Center for Security and Emerging Technologies at Georgetown University, the number of doctoral graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics at US and Chinese universities was 18,289 and 9038, respectively, in 2000. However, in 2019, the number of doctoral graduates in China reached 49,498, exceeding the number of American graduates of 33,759. As of 2019, the total number of researchers in China reached 2,09,459.
"China has become a serious competitor to the United States in quantum, AI, 5G, and semiconductors," said the Belfer Center at Harvard University.
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