How many years is China ahead of the US in technology? You may ask.
China and the US are two countries that are going neck-to-neck in technology and it’s interesting to note how much one country is ahead of the other in various fields.
How Many Years Is China Ahead of The US in Technology?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions concerning technologically-advanced nations today.
Well, to cut the chase, in 2020, the United States was ahead of China by five to seven years in chip technology.
But China is ahead of the US and many other countries in other fields.
For instance, it is ahead in several areas of AI applications, facial recognition, voice recognition, and fintech.
Jointly with Russia, China leads in hypersonic technologies and game technology.
Some reports from Harvard claim that China is a serious competitor in foundational technologies like green energy, biotechnology, AI, semiconductors, and 5G wireless.
Background
In the last two to three years between 2019 and 2022 over the COVID-19 pandemic, technology did not take a direct hit but the manufacturing field did.
The tech industry of the United States and China is driven by fierce competition as they see themselves as technological rivals and geopolitical threats to each other.
So, when you ask the question “How many years is China ahead of the US in technology?”
Some respond by confirming that China is already ahead in many areas, then it is not uncommon for some countries to be ahead of others in particular areas and behind in other fields.
China’s Global Patent Applications
Out of 520,000 AI patent applications across the world, China holds 389,571 of them.
The Tsinghua University Artificial Intelligence Research Institute provided this interesting information.
China’s position in patent registrations moved up from No. 4 in 2015 to No. 1 in 2020.
Today, China has the record of spending the second-highest on R&D. In 2020, China’s spending on R&D amounted to $370 billion.
These figures suggest that China is taking the lead in R&D and patent registrations.
It is also providing incentives for citizens by funding different fields and sourcing domestic talent.
The TikTok Yardstick
The United States has always been the leader in social media technology, with pathbreaking developments coming out of Silicon Valley, California.
Then, along came TikTok to upset the apple cart.
In 2016, Chinese technology firm ByteDance released its short-form video hosting service, TikTok across the globe.
Today, the platform has 690 million users per month in the United States. The total number of users in Europe is 100 million.
However, other than TikTok, there hasn’t been any other notable development.
There are indications that China is in the process of developing new technologies in apps similar to TikTok in combination with a shopping app. We will have to wait and watch what China comes up with.
Largest Air Force
If you were to judge a country’s technological progress through its military strength, then China is way ahead of many countries.
Its navy is considered to be the largest globally and it also has the largest air force in the Asia-Pacific with 3,285 aircraft – number three in the world.
In 2019, China demonstrated its highly advanced missiles in its National Day Military Parade.
It proved how advanced China has become in military technology.
Although China has a considerable military budget ($229.5 billion for 2022), the budget of the United States for 2022 is way ahead at $715 billion.
Global Innovation Index
The Global Innovation Index was first created in 2007. It is a system that ranks nations in terms of their capacity to innovate.
In this, China held the 14th rank in 2021. It is not surprising to many due to the country’s “copycat” culture.
But contrary to this preconceived notion, there is evidence of China rising to meet the challenge of innovation.
When we consider that China was 29th in 2015, moving up to the 14th position in 2021 is quite an achievement.
The United States, on the other hand, occupied the 3rd position in the Global Innovation Index in 2021.
Campaigns like “China-first” are promoting innovation in health technology, fintech, social media, and mobility.
Companies like Tencent, Alibaba, and Huawei are among the top 50 in the world and are leading China in innovative technologies.
Chinese Education vs American Education
In 2020, more than $10 billion was pumped into China’s education system.
China is way ahead of many countries in its education programs, particularly in science and technology.
Education gets a high level of priority and over 250 million Chinese students receive education at three levels every year.
When it comes to the American education system, differs vastly from Chinese education.
While the Chinese system focuses on creativity, the American system stresses the importance of how students apply their knowledge in society.
So, while it’s difficult to quantify, both systems seem to have their pros and cons.
China vs the US in Green Energy
Considering that China holds a market share globally of 70% of the solar panel market, it puts it ahead of the United States.
With global warming, the concept of green energy such as solar power has come to the forefront.
The United States leads in innovation and invention. But China has proved its mettle in producing goods in the green energy sector.
In 2000, China occupied a mere 1% of the solar panels market share. During that time, the United States was at 30%.
Today, the United States occupies less than 1% of the market share, while China dominates at 70%.
Four of the biggest producers of wind turbines are in China. It controls 40% of the world market in wind turbines, whereas the United States only has 17% of the market share.
In the Electric Vehicles (EV) sector, China is the No. 1 producer in the world. China sold 1.3 million EVs in 2020, while America sold only 100,000.
Conclusion
So, where are we in our discussion of how China and the United States are ahead of each other?
Although we see that China is picking up in many fields, the only field in which it has a clear lead is green energy.
We need to wait and watch to see in a few more years how the two countries compare.
How many years is China ahead of the US in technology is a question that only time will tell.