The United States Could Lose the Future Global Technology Race to China

Although the United States remains the top spender on research and development and is the undisputed global leader in IT B2B market revenues, the US technology dominance has been increasingly challenged by China.

According to data presented by Stocklytics.com, the world’s largest economy and tech industry could lose the future global technology race to China.  

China Leads in 53 of 64 Critical Technologies; the United States Tops the Remaining 11

The title of the world’s biggest technological superpower is often debated and depends on different factors, including tech infrastructure, innovation, the ability to produce cutting-edge technologies, and influence on global markets. However, the United States is generally considered the biggest technological superpower, although China is rapidly closing the gap in many areas.

The two countries have been in a tech race for decades, battling for supremacy in key areas of technology that will shape the future of the global economy.  Although the United States leads in R&D expenditures, with 3.5% of its GDP being invested in future innovations, is the most prepared to use the opportunities of information and communications technology, according to the Network Readiness Index, and is home to the world’s largest tech companies, like Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon, China is increasingly challenging its technology dominance.

According to a study by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), China was the leader in 53 of 64 critical technologies in 2023, including AI technology, biotechnology, quantum, and defense, space, and robotics, while the United States topped the remaining 11.

Statistics show China had an exceptionally high-impact research output in advanced materials and manufacturing, leading in 13 technologies, compared to the US, which had none. While the difference between the two countries was much smaller in AI technology, biotechnology, gene technology, and vaccines, China convincingly dominated the fields of energy and environment, sensing, timing, navigation, and unique AUKUS technologies.

Statistics also show that while China ranked as the global leader in eight technologies used in the energy and environment, the US score in this field was again none, the same as in the AUKUS technology area, where the China-US ratio was three to none.

China Tops in Four out of Six AI Technologies

Although the release of ChatGPT by the San Francisco-based OpenAI in late 2022 helped to narrow the gap between China and the United States in the AI space, China remains the absolute leader in this field.

According to Statista Market Insights, the US AI industry is expected to hit a $50 billion value in 2024, up from China’s $35 billion. But China still tops in four out of six crucial AI technologies, which comes as no surprise considering the Chinese government has set the goal of becoming a global AI leader by 2030

According to ASPI’s Critical Technology Tracker, China dominates in advanced data analytics, AI algorithms and hardware accelerators, adversarial AI, and machine learning. At the same time, the United States tops only in advanced integrated circuit design and fabrication and natural language processing.

As a major economic growth and transformation driver, AI will also have a huge and long-lasting positive impact on China’s GDP growth. According to Statista, artificial intelligence could add 6.5% to the country’s GDP growth by 2030 or five times more than this year.