Since 1998, the share of China’s economy devoted to research and development has tripled. While the portion of global research and development (R&D) in the United States fell from 37 percent to 30 percent in the past decade, China’s share of global R&D increased from about 2 percent to 14.5 percent. With nearly 2 percent of China’s mammoth GDP going toward R&D, it now has the statistical edge over Europe, and the United States is struggling to retain its lead.
