China Is Ahead Almost Everywhere: From Materials Science to Artificial Intelligence
Vladimir Korchagin, Editor, Switzerland
China is not merely expanding its scientific and technological power—a new report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) shows that the country holds leading positions in the overwhelming majority of key technological fields according to its Critical Technology Tracker 2025. According to the data, Beijing leads in 66 out of 74 critical technology areas—nearly 90% of the world’s key technological sectors, ranging from nuclear energy to synthetic biology and small satellite systems. Only eight areas remain in which the United States holds stronger positions.
The analysis is based on the share of scientific publications ranked in the top decile by citation impact over the 2020–2024 period, making it a measure not just of activity, but of research quality and influence. Such coverage indicates that China’s scientific and technological system is not only generating a large volume of research, but is actively shaping the international agenda in frontier domains. Tajikistan News in English
The reasons behind this shift are multifaceted. First, over the past two decades China has significantly increased investment in research and development, while simultaneously encouraging the integration of universities, research institutes, and industry into a unified innovation ecosystem. Second, state programs aimed at technological independence and leadership translate strategic objectives into long-term industrial and scientific projects. This is particularly evident in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum communications, biotechnology, and advanced materials manufacturing. itif.org
For robotics and autonomous systems, these global changes mean that key technological components—from computing architectures and sensor technologies to machine learning algorithms and the integration of cyber-physical platforms—are increasingly being developed in Asia rather than exclusively in traditional hubs such as Silicon Valley or Europe. This shift in balance is creating a new architecture of global scientific and technological competition.
Paradoxically, in a world where much is said about U.S. digital dominance, the drivers of leadership are shifting toward broader institutional strategies for technological development, including the centralization of scientific resources and large-scale public investment. If at the beginning of the 21st century the United States and Europe stood at the top across many disciplines, today China is confidently positioning itself as a key technological actor in the global innovation race.
This shift does not negate the competitiveness of Western scientific schools, but it does suggest that in the coming years the world’s strategic technological map will become increasingly multipolar. The innovation landscape is no longer homogeneous, and the emergence of new centers of power implies a reassessment of traditional approaches to the development, funding, and commercialization of advanced technologies.
