http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115949196271377533-vEXPMj4hv_90SRdiOV5_e8pIn0Q_20061006.html?mod=regionallinks
An
unprecedented surge in research and development spending is helping China catch
up with the two longstanding leaders in the field, the US and Japan, a new study
found.
R&D spending in China has been growing at an annual rate of about 17%,
and is far higher than the 4% to 5% annual growth rates reported for the US,
Japan and the European Union over the past dozen years. China's massive
investments in education are also bearing fruit. In 2002, its
industrial-research work force was 42% the size of the equivalent US work force,
up from 16% in 1991.
China is increasingly making its mark with scientific discoveries and patents
held by its scientists. In 2003 China became only the third country, after the
US and Russia, to put a person into orbit on its own. Yesterday, Michael
Griffin, administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
returned to the US after a visit to China -- the first time a NASA administrator
has visited that country -- to explore and expand space-program cooperation.
"China's significant investment in R&D is predicated on the assumption
that they want to be a player and competitor both economically and militarily,"
said Jules Duga, senior analyst at Battelle Memorial Institute, a nonprofit
trust in Columbus, Ohio, that runs labs for the government and industry.
The study, co-written by Mr. Duga, was conducted by Battelle and R&D
Magazine and is being published today. The study included in its measure
expenditures such as scientists' salaries and lab equipment in both the public
and private sector, but excluded long-term capital expenditures such as
buildings and major equipment.
China's technology-driven rise could heighten worries that the US is ceding
some of its competitive edge in science and technology to Asia's new power.
America's share of total global R&D is estimated to slip slightly to 31.9%
in 2007 from 32.7% last year, according to the study. Japan and Europe are
projected to show similar declines, while China's share of global R&D is set
to increase to 14.8% in 2007 from 12.7% in 2005.
But the US remains an R&D powerhouse, investing $320 billion in such
efforts last year, compared with $236 billion invested by the EU and $125
billion by Japan. Though China's R&D spending now makes up about 1.6% of its
gross domestic product, up from about 1% five years ago -- it's still a far cry
from the 2.6% of GDP that the US invests, and the 3.2% of GDP that Japan
invests.
In the last few years, the increase in US R&D investment has been driven
by military-related research. Roughly 60% of America's research and development
originates from the private sector. In a ranking of the top five
R&D-spending companies, four are American, including Pfizer Inc., Ford Motor
Co., Microsoft Corp. and General Motors Corp. The other is Toyota Motor Corp. of
Japan.
American firms also make the biggest biotechnology investments, according to
the Battelle report. One spur: a continuing decline in the number of new drug
approvals by large pharmaceutical companies.
Despite the shifting R&D landscape, "there's no need for the US to
panic," said Mr. Duga. Instead, he said, "the US needs to be prepared for a
change. We need to figure out how we can keep ourselves in a strong position" in
crucial areas of science and technology. His prescription: Spend more on math
and science education, and invest more in pure research, which US industry
increasingly has shunned.
