Russia Today Television (RT) published an article by Norman Lewis, a British writer, speaker and director of PwC, on the 9th. A new study from Harvard's Belfer Center, which compares technological capabilities and advances in the United States and China, shows that many experts' predictions are wrong.
Screenshot of the report
The study, titled "The Great Technological Competition," concludes that not only has China made an extraordinary technological leap forward to make itself an "all-round competitor," but that China appears to be in a good position to dominate the future.
In less than a quarter-century, U.S. leadership in the world's technology sector has reversed, with China already overtaking the United States as the world's largest high-tech maker, producing 250 million computers, 25 million cars and 1.5 billion smartphones in 2020.
But as Graham Allison (one of the authors of the Harvard report) and Eric Schmidt (former CEO of Google) point out in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, in addition to becoming a manufacturing giant, "China is likely to be a global leader in every fundamental technology of the 21st century— artificial intelligence, semiconductors, 5G communications, quantum information science, biotechnology, and green energy." In some areas, China has become the number one in the world. ”
This is a significant shift, Lewis writes, as most Western experts previously arrogantly thought it was impossible.
Infographic (Visual China)
For example, the report notes that in 1999 the National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine declared that the United States' "unique and robust system for creating new knowledge and using it to serve everyone's interests" will remain the single biggest determinant of the 21st century. The report also recalls Time magazine's assertion in a special issue of Beyond 2000 that "China cannot become an industrial giant in the 21st century."
Today, as the report acknowledges, China has clearly surpassed the U.S. in AI applications, including facial recognition, voice recognition, and fintech. The report also notes that Last year China produced 50 percent of the world's computers and mobile phones, compared with the United States, which accounted for only 6 percent. At present, for every 70 solar panels produced in China, the United States produces only one; China's electric vehicle sales are 4 times that of the United States, the number of 5G base stations is 9 times that of the United States, and the network speed is 5 times that of the United States.
The U.S. still dominates the semiconductor industry, a position that has been maintained for nearly half a century. However, as China catches up in the two important areas of semiconductor manufacturing and chip design, the direction of development is clear. In addition, 30 years ago, only one out of every 20 Chinese students returned to China to develop, and now 4 out of every 5 people return to China.
Lewis pointed out that the problem facing the United States is that the fundamental trend shows that it is being surpassed in almost all areas, even in those where the United States still has an advantage.
Infographic (People's Vision)
For example, the United States remains the undisputed frontrunner in biotechnology, with a significant leadership in innovation, with seven of the 10 most valuable life sciences companies based in the United States. However, China now lists biotechnology as one of the key areas of national development. The large amount of investment shows that China is competing fiercely in the entire field of biotechnology research and development. In addition, the United States has been the leading inventor of new green energy technologies for the past two decades, and today China is the world's leading manufacturer, user and exporter of such technologies, consolidating its dominance over the future of green energy supply chains.
So Lewis claims that the Harvard report is "a wake-up call" for the United States and the West. The report highlights that China, as a huge economic power, is bound to dominate the future of science and technology, as well as seize the opportunities it brings.
(Editor: WDQ)