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
October 23, 2025|Events
Fair Trade Commission Policy Direction Discussion: Seeking a Balance Between Regulation, Innovation, and Competitiveness
Please join us for this timely discussion on the future of Korea’s competition policy and digital economy.
October 20, 2025|Events
Tech Policy 101: Fall 2025 Educational Seminar Series for Congressional and Federal Staff
ITIF’s fall seminar course will explore core emerging technologies that are reshaping our world and the public policy challenges and opportunities influencing their development and application. The course is open to congressional and federal staff only.
October 9, 2025|Blogs
Bernie Sanders’ Worker Dystopia: Never Lose Your Job But Never Get a Raise
If Senator Sanders wants to raise wages, he should focus on the real cause of slow growth, lagging productivity from low capital investment, instead of stymieing AI.
October 7, 2025|Blogs
Asian Students Are America’s STEM Advantage: Why Merit Should Matter
Asians earn bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields at much higher rates than other racial and ethnic groups, strengthening the United States’ innovation capacity, industrial base, and global competitiveness. Their academic success is an asset that should be rewarded, not penalized.
October 7, 2025|Blogs
Korea Enters the Global Top Four in Innovation—Now It Must Turn Knowledge Into Scaled Firms
Korea has entered the global top four economies in innovation, powered by world-class research intensity and corporate R&D. Amid a persistent input–output gap and weak startup M&A activity, the challenge now is scale: converting knowledge into globally competitive firms.
October 6, 2025|Blogs
Fact of the Week: Over $1.4T More Venture Capital Funding Was Invested in U.S.-headquartered Firms than in European Firms
Compared to the United States, venture capital (VC) activity in the European Union (EU) is low, with EU-headquartered firms receiving $1.4 trillion less VC funding than their American counterparts from 2013 to 2022.
October 6, 2025|Reports & Briefings
Tip of the Iceberg: Understanding the Full Depth of Big Tech’s Contribution to US Innovation and Competitiveness
While critics attack “big tech” from many angles, these five companies develop frontier technologies that require large-scale development, build infrastructure ranging from data centers to subsea cables, and create spillovers from health care to nuclear energy.
October 3, 2025|Testimonies & Filings
Comments to the European Commission Regarding the European Innovation Act
For the EIA to succeed, the Commission needs to address Europe’s broader economic policy environment. The EU’s reliance on the precautionary principle has entrenched a risk-first mindset that slows innovation and diverts resources away from competition and quality improvement.
October 2, 2025|Blogs
What Happened to the American Business Creed? Part I: Business Attacks
Although the seven values of the American Business Creed were widely accepted in the 1950s, two have eroded over time, driven largely by changes in business itself.
September 26, 2025|Blogs
The Paramount Question: Do Countries Actually Want Growth?
Unless we can restore the growth imperative in the West, we can—no surprise—expect slower, or in the case of some countries like Canada and the UK, negative per-capita income growth.