China's R&D: Don't Freak [opinion]

Posted on: Apr. 4th, 2006 || Source: defensetech.org | E-mail Article | Print Article

China is about to pass the U.S. in the development of defense and commercial technology. And they're gonna take our lunch money, too.
Those are the conclusions China hawks will draw, no doubt, from a new Office of Naval Research (ONR) report on Beijing's science and technology. Posted by Steven Aftergood of Secrecy News, the report notes that:

* China's moved to the forefront of S&T research in terms of journal articles published,

and

* China has more R&D investment focus on the hard science and engineering fields most relevant to "defense and commercial activities" than the US or any other competitor

These highlights are worrisome if you’re already looking over your shoulder at China. But this isn’t China’s Sputnik, and here’s why: First, a big quantity of research doesn't mean a lot of quality research and second, China's current investment is only establishing the R&D foundation other nations built decades ago.

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