“China’s investment in science and technology continues to climb. In 2024 alone, funding for basic research reached 249.7 billion yuan [~$35 Billion], an increase of over 70 percent compared with 2020, according to the latest government data.
Moreover, China has achieved a series of major, original breakthroughs in quantum science, life science, materials science, and space science. For five consecutive years, China has ranked first worldwide in both the number of high-level international journal publications and international patent applications, official data shows.”
America played a major role in China’s rise, with Americans spending the last 20 years pouring money into Chinese goods, often cheap and low-quality. From Walmart, Target, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Amazon, and every other big-box store, American consumerism fueled China’s growth in the 21st century. But it’s not fair to blame hardworking Americans for the failures of their leaders..
The failure was the inability of the “leaders” to see the longer-term consequences of de-industrializing. One of the costs of the cheaper imported goods was the loss of the jobs & income by laid-off workers. Citizens are producers first before they are customers.
Not investing in research and in factories & machinery looks like a boost to profits in the short term … but it is a going-out-of-business strategy longer term. So here we are. We have already lost the economic contest to China, and most of us don’t even realize it.