By Matt Hourihan
After years of speculation within the science policy community, a new assessment shows it has finally happened: China has officially crept past the United States in total research and development (R&D) investment.
The assessment comes from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a global authority on international science and technology data. Per their indicators, China’s leapfrog actually occurred in 2024, the most recent year for which data are available. That year, China invested $1.03 trillion (in current dollar value) in research and development from all sources, topping the United States’ $1.01 trillion investment. (Note that the chart below is in constant dollars, or “purchasing power parity” dollars, to enable easier cross-country comparisons over time.)[i]
This isn’t a surprise development, given China’s aggressive investment in R&D in recent years: Since 2004, Chinese R&D has grown by more than 14% annually, more than double that of the United States over the same period. This growth is a reflection of China’s continuing emphasis on science and innovation in its five-year plans, recurring strategies that guide broader policy choices.
China’s R&D intensity also continues to rise, as measured by R&D investment relative to the overall economy. Chinese R&D is now 2.7% of gross domestic product, meaning it has caught up with other advanced OECD economies on that metric (though it still lags the leaders, including the United States, Germany, Japan, and South Korea).
Another Indicator of Global Competition
R&D represents an incredibly high-value public investment with immense economic returns, per the most recent analyses, which is why public R&D has been a core element in national strategies among advanced economies from the United Kingdom to Japan.
China has followed suit with stunning results, and was increasingly seen as a science superpower even before its investment totals exceeded those of the United States. For example:
- Chinese scientists are increasingly asserting themselves in terms of global research influence; Chinese institutions now dominate the Nature Index rankings of scientific publications.
- China is a strong challenger in quantum information science and technology. Its achievements include the establishment of a prototype quantum communications network linking Beijing, Shanghai, and other cities, and – via satellite – South Africa.
- China has pulled well ahead of the West in AI researcher count and output.
- The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), based in Hefei, China, is among the world’s leading fusion facilities. It has repeatedly set records for long-duration plasma sustainment, an important step on the road to viable fusion.
- China has built some of the most powerful magnets and one of the largest synchrotrons in the world; both are important tools for discovery in chemistry, materials science, and biology.
These achievements make clear that China is a serious contender for global scientific leadership. The fact that it has surpassed the United States in raw dollars is another stark indicator of its rise.
Looking Ahead
Coincidentally, news of China’s investment rise comes the same week as the White House is expected to deliver its FY27 budget request, which is already rumored to again propose significant cuts to research funding. The FY26 request sought steep cuts to science, but Congress mostly turned these proposals back. Time will tell whether the new investment data point motivates Congress to achieve a similar outcome for science in FY27.
[i] “Purchasing power parity” is a way of converting currencies so that a dollar buys roughly the same amount of goods and services in each country.
Matt Hourihan is associate vice president for government relations and public policy at AAU. The graph above was created by Graham Andrews, research analyst at AAU.