Growing animus toward “Big Tech” companies and generalized opposition to technological innovation engenders support for policies that are expressly designed to inhibit it. That is deeply problematic for future progress, prosperity, and competitiveness.

A Policymaker’s Guide to the “Techlash”—What It Is and Why It’s a Threat to Growth and Progress

In the decade since the global financial crisis, the Chinese government has moved aggressively to stimulate capital investment that will strengthen its competitive position, both domestically and in global markets.

Fact of the Week: Chinese Government-backed Investment Funds Aim to Control $1.7 Trillion

A recent report by Japan’s National Institute of Standards and Technology found that China accounted for 4,744 of the approximately 17,440 scientific research papers that made up the top 1 percent in terms of citations. This accounted for 27.2 percent of that group.

Fact of the Week: China Now Leads the World in the Number of Top-Cited Scientific Research Papers Produced

China’s rapid technological development has put tremendous pressure on the United States to remain competitive in strategically important industries. Rob and Jackie sat down with Matt Turpin to discuss what the United States has done so far to face the China challenge and what future policies should look like.

Podcast: The Challenges China Presents to U.S. Technological Capabilities, With Matt Turpin

Rob and Jackie sat down with Dr. Juan Gilbert, chair of the University of Florida’s Computer & Information Science & Engineering Department, to discuss how the United States has fallen behind in recruiting students in science, technology, engineering, and math and what policymakers, universities, and industries can do diversify their candidate pools.

Podcast: The Keys to Diversifying Computer Science Education, With Dr. Juan Gilbert

(Ed. Note: The “Innovation Fact of the Week” appears as a regular feature in each edition of ITIF’s weekly email newsletter. Sign up today.)  The STEM workforce is much more gender-diverse in China than it is in the United States, even accounting for the male skew in China’s population. About 40 percent of China’s STEM workforce is comprised of women, a stark contrast to the U.S. workforce, where women only hold 24 percent of STEM occupations. 

Innovation Fact of the Week: Women Represent 40% of STEM Workforce in China, But Only 24% in US

China’s labor productivity grew by a world-best 12 percent from 2000 to 2011, writes John Wu in Innovation Files.

Innovation Fact of the Week: China Led World in Labor Productivity Growth from 2000-2011

This reversed the trend observed between 1995 and 2012, where the number of such patents granted increased at a rate of 10.3 percent per year.

Fact of the Week: The Number of High-Value Patents Granted for Climate Change Mitigation Technologies Decreased by 5.5 Percent Per Year from 2013 to 2017

The Chinese government funds an exceptionally large amount of R&D, with direct government subsidies accounting for a quarter of the country’s total R&D spending in 2015. As such, how well the government allocates those funds plays an outsized role in determining how innovative the nation can be.

Fact of the Week: Following China's Anti-Corruption Campaign, Highly Productive Firms Received 44 Percent More R&D Subsidies

China's annual R&D investment growth of between 6 percent and 7 percent outpaces the U.S. R&D growth rate of 3 percent to 4 percent, writes John Wu in Innovation Files.

Innovation Fact of the Week: China Projected to Pass U.S. R&D Investment by 2025

The fall in the value-added of foreign inputs as a share of China’s gross exports reflects an increased reliance on domestic production of intermediate goods and services and a shift toward production for domestic consumption.

Fact of the Week: Foreign-Produced Content of Chinese Exports Fell From 21.9 Percent in 2008 to 17.2 Percent in 2018

Foreign patent applications in technology fields of strategic importance to China are less likely to be approved than local applications, writes Stephen Ezell in Innovation Files.

Innovation Fact of the Week: Foreign Patent Applications in Tech Fields of Strategic Importance to China are 4-7 Percentage Points Less Likely to be Approved than Local Applications, All Else Equal

The ICE U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the value of the dollar against a basket of other global currencies, increased 19.6 percent over the last 12 months and is at its highest level since May 2002. 

Fact of the Week: The US Dollar Is Up Almost 20% Relative to Other Major Currencies Over the Last Year

After China acceded to the WTO, the trade-creation impact accounted for four-fifths of its manufacturing productivity growth in the next six years, writes John Wu in Innovation Files.

Fact of the Week: Reducing Tariffs Accounted for Fourth-Fifths of China’s Manufacturing Productivity Growth in the 6 Years Following its Accession to the WTO

Companies invest in research and development activities to remain at the forefront of technology, stay ahead of their competitors, and create new waves of innovations—and by these measures, the U.S. information technology sector is intensely focused on maintaining its global leadership position, writes John Wu in Innovation Files.

Fact of the Week: China’s Youth Unemployment Rate Reaches Its Highest Level on Record in April

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A Policymaker’s Guide to the “Techlash”—What It Is and Why It’s a Threat to Growth and Progress

Fact of the Week: Chinese Government-backed Investment Funds Aim to Control $1.7 Trillion

Fact of the Week: China Now Leads the World in the Number of Top-Cited Scientific Research Papers Produced