National Competitiveness
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As nations engage in a race for global advantage in innovation, ITIF champions a new policy paradigm that ensures businesses and national economies can compete successfully by spurring public and private investment in foundational areas such as research, skills, and 21st century infrastructure. Our work on competitiveness policy includes analysis of the many factors and policies driving national competitiveness, including improving innovation ecosystems and the technical capacity of high-value-added industries.

Vice President, Global Innovation Policy, and Director, Center for Life Sciences Innovation
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
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Head of Policy, Centre for Canadian Innovation and Competitiveness
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
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China Is Rapidly Becoming a Leading Innovator in Advanced Industries

There may be no more important question for the West’s competitive position in advanced industries than whether China is becoming a rival innovator. While the evidence suggests it hasn’t yet taken the overall lead, it has pulled ahead in certain areas, and in many others Chinese firms will likely equal or surpass Western firms within a decade or so.
The Hamilton Index, 2023: China Is Running Away With Strategic Industries

China now dominates the strategically important industries in ITIF’s Hamilton Index, producing more than any other nation in absolute terms and more than all but a few others in relative terms. Its gains are coming at the expense of the United States and other G7 and OECD economies, and time is running short for policymakers to mount an industrial comeback.
More Publications and Events
February 5, 2025|Events
The Decline of the “Anglo-Saxon” System of Capitalism
Please join ITIF for a virtual panel with international experts who will discuss why nations operating by the Anglo-Saxon economic playbook must abandon their reliance on purely market-driven capitalism, how they can reverse their recent declines, and what alternative systems policymakers should embrace to meet the demands of a modern, technology-driven global economy.
February 3, 2025|Op-Eds & Contributed Articles
Canadian Economic Nationalism in the Trump Era: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
Canada’s lagging productivity and innovation, combined with the second term of Donald Trump, is driving the country’s policy leaders to embrace a deeply flawed idea: techno-economic nationalism. This approach will harm Canadian innovation and provoke Trump.
January 31, 2025|Blogs
The FTC’s Amazon-Temu Blunder: Working With China to Target American Tech
The FTC's surprising decision to partner with Chinese-owned Temu in its antitrust case against Amazon reveals a dangerous misalignment between American antitrust policy and national security interests, highlighting how regulatory overreach could end up strengthening China's tech dominance.
January 30, 2025|Events
Scale Matters: Understanding The Economics of Global Semiconductor Innovation
Watch now for an expert panel elucidating the innovation economics of the global semiconductor industry, exploring how the industry is capitalized, and exploring the landscape of global semiconductor competition and policy in the year ahead.
January 27, 2025|Blogs
Building Canadian Start-Ups Through Global Experience
Instead of viewing foreign tech companies as competitors to domestic innovation, Canada must embrace their complementary role in fostering a vibrant, interconnected tech ecosystem.
January 21, 2025|Blogs
After Biden’s “Tech-Industrial Complex” Warning, Trump Has an Opportunity for a Fresh Start
President Biden’s parting condemnation of what he called the “tech-industrial complex” underscored how deeply entrenched demonization of the tech industry has become among policymakers—a stance they must change to ensure America remains globally competitive.
January 21, 2025|Blogs
America Has a National Security Strategy. Where Is Its National Competitiveness Strategy?
What is needed is the political will to challenge the status quo and make a radical shift from the “marketist” approach to a “producerist” approach to the economy by focusing first and foremost on how to restore America’s advanced-industry dominance.
January 16, 2025|Events
Balancing National Security and Economic Competitiveness in AI Export Controls
Watch now for a panel discussion on the proposed AI export control framework’s implications for U.S. competitiveness, the global AI ecosystem, and national security. Panelists will discuss the risks of the proposed approach, explore alternative policy strategies, and discuss the path forward to balance economic, security, and foreign policy objectives.
January 15, 2025|Blogs
Beyond the Numbers: The Truth About US Business R&D Growth
The growth of business R&D spending from 2018 to 2022 was quite uneven, with nonmanufacturing industries’ growth rate far exceeding that of manufacturing industries. For the United States to successfully compete with China, most industries need to be strong in innovation, which requires robust R&D increases. Congress must pass pro-innovation tax reforms.
January 13, 2025|Blogs
Fact of the Week: H-1B Visa Workers Contribute to the Number of Issued Patents in the United States
A recent study found that the number of H-1B visa holders is highly correlated with the number of issued patents in a state.