China's Spending For Research Outpaces the U.S.
An unprecedented surge in research and development spending is helping China catch up with the two longstanding leaders in the field, the U.S. 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 U.S., 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. invests, and the 3.2% of GDP that Japan invests.
In the last few years, the increase in U.S. 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 U.S. to panic," said Mr. Duga. Instead, he said, "the U.S. 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 U.S. industry increasingly has shunned.
中国研发支出的增幅高于美国
一项新近进行的研究显示，中国在研发方面的支出正以前所未有的高速度增长，这有助于它迎头赶上美国和日本这两个在该领域长期居领先地位的国家。
中国的研发支出一直在以每年约17%的速度增长，而美国、日本和欧盟过去12年中的研发支出年增长率只有4%到5%，大大低于中国的水平。中国在教育方面的大量投入也正结出果实。2002年，该国企业研发人员的规模已相当于美国的42%，而1991年时只及美国的16%。
中国的科研成果以及中国科学家所获专利的数量也在不断增多。2003年，中国成为继美国和俄罗斯之后世界第三个独力将宇航员送如太空的国家。美国国家航空及太空总署(NASA)的署长迈克尔?格里芬(Michael Griffin)周四结束访华返回了美国，这是NASA的负责人首次访问中国，他此行是为了商讨扩大两国在空间项目上的合作。
美国巴特尔纪念研究所(Battelle Memorial Institute)的高级分析师朱尔斯?杜加(Jules Duga)说：“人们猜测中国在研发方面大量投资是想在经济和军事领域都能占据一席之地。”
杜加代表巴特尔纪念研究所与《研发杂志》(R&D Magazine)合作进行了此项研究，研究报告于周五发布。这一研究衡量了中国政府和民间机构的科研人员工资及实验室设备等方面的情况，但没有考虑建筑支出和重大设备支出等长期性资本支出情况。
中国科技实力的增长有可能使人进一步担心，美国在科学和技术方面相对于中国的领先优势正在缩小。上述研究显示，美国占全球研发总支出的份额2007年时预计将从去年的32.7%下滑至31.9%。日本和欧洲所占的份额预计也会有所下降，而中国在全球研发开支中所占的份额则将从2005年时的12.7%增加到2007年时的14.8%。
但美国仍将是研发支出的大国，其去年的研发支出为3,200亿美元，而欧盟和日本去年的研发支出分别为2,360亿美元和1,250亿美元。虽然中国目前的研发支出已相当于其国内生产总值(GDP)的1.6%左右，高于5年前约1%的水平，但与美国的研发支出相当于GDP的2.6%、日本的研发支出相当于GDP的3.2%相比，仍远为逊色。
过去几年中，美国研发投资的增长一直是受与军事有关的研究项目推动的。美国大约60%的研发支出来自民间机构。在全球研发支出排名前五位的大公司中，有四家是美国公司，它们分别是辉瑞公司(Pfizer Inc.)、福特汽车公司(Ford Motor Co.)、微软公司(Microsoft Corp.)和通用汽车公司(General Motors Corp.)。唯一一家非美国企业是日本的丰田汽车公司(Toyota Motor Corp.)。
报告还显示，美国公司在生物技术方面的投资也是最大的。造成这一现象的原因之一是，大型制药公司获准上市销售的新药持续减少。
杜加说，尽管各国占世界研发总支出的比例有所变化，“但美国不必为此惊慌失措。”他指出，美国应该为这一变化做好准备，应考虑如何才能在重要的科技领域继续保持优势。他开出的药方是：加大在数学和科学教育方面的支出，增加在基础研究领域的支出。美国企业越来越不愿意在基础研究方面加大投入。
Gautam Naik
