As China increases its R&D expenditure, it also has made great progress in its science and technology, according to the report "The State of US Science and Engineering 2020" by the National Science Foundation, or NSF.
The report shows that in 2017, China spent $496 billion on research and development, following closely behind US R&D expenditure of $549 billion.
R&D produces new knowledge－consequently, China's science and technology capabilities have taken a great stride forward, as indicated by various measurements in the report.
China's share of published science and engineering papers has risen tenfold, from 5 percent of the world's total in 2000, to 21 percent in 2018. And China's output in terms of absolute quantity exceeded the United States' output of 17 percent.
Publications receiving more citations is another indicator of impact and achievement. In that regard, China's index more than doubled, from 0.37 in 2000, to 1.1 in 2016, indicating rising impact in the science and engineering field.
Source: China Daily
