In materials physics, chemistry, engineering, computer science, and renewable energy, China leads in publishing scientific studies that have a major impact. " China has made scientific breakthroughs such as bringing back samples from the far side of the moon, developing the AI model Deepseek comparable to ChatGPT but on simpler chips, and sending quantum-encrypted messages via satellite to other continents. The US has dominated scientifically since World War II and been a magnet for the sharpest minds in the world, but China has since the 1980s deliberately invested increasingly more resources to catch up.
Marginson notes, "China's spectacular path to the top of research was first due to the US's contribution to educating Chinese doctoral students who then returned home and built their own labs. " In the US, warnings are being raised about the major cuts proposed by US President Donald Trump for 2026. Trump wants to nearly halve funding to federal research funders like NIH and NSF, which would accelerate the fall from the research throne.
In some research areas, China is already number one.
So far, the US Congress has opposed these cuts. The research budget for 2026 is likely to be decided within a few weeks, but whether Trump's proposed cuts will be implemented remains uncertain. Meanwhile, in Sweden, former Education Minister Mats Persson (L) has warned Swedish universities about the risks of defense secrets leaking when collaborating with research institutions with military ties, though the specific risks are not detailed.
Four university rectors write in a debate article that Sweden should rather cooperate more scientifically with China, but their identities and affiliations are unknown.
China's spectacular path to the top of research was first due to the US's contribution to educating Chinese doctoral students who then returned home and built their own labs. But for a long time, China has stood on its own feet.