Is China ahead of the US in technology? What the research shows
In research, mostly yes. China writes a larger share of the 10% most-cited papers than the United States in 37 of 45 critical technologies. The United States is ahead in 8: high-performance computing, quantum computing, atomic clocks, small satellites, nuclear fusion, gene editing, mRNA vaccines and therapeutics and genome sequencing.
Data: OpenAlex, research published 2021–2025, pulled 18 October 2026. Definition version 0.5.
Technology by technology
Share of the 10% most cited papers, 2021–2025, grouped by field.
| Technology | China | United States | Ahead | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large language models | 27.4% | 19.4% | China | 1.4× |
| Wide-bandgap semiconductors | 40.8% | 18.6% | China | 2.2× |
| AI chips | 46.2% | 11.6% | China | 4.0× |
| Advanced chip manufacturing | 31.8% | 15.0% | China | 2.1× |
| High-performance computing | 13.9% | 36.3% | United States | 2.6× |
| Cybersecurity | 14.8% | 7.6% | China | 1.9× |
| Distributed ledgers | 20.6% | 6.7% | China | 3.1× |
| Advanced robotics | 31.5% | 16.0% | China | 2.0× |
| Quantum computing | 11.2% | 34.9% | United States | 3.1× |
| Quantum communication | 28.9% | 14.1% | China | 2.1× |
| Post-quantum cryptography | 20.4% | 9.8% | China | 2.1× |
| Atomic clocks | 19.9% | 38.7% | United States | 1.9× |
| Quantum sensors | 22.5% | 21.5% | China | 1.0× |
| Satellite navigation | 56.1% | 5.5% | China | 10.1× |
| Inertial navigation | 64.0% | 6.4% | China | 10.0× |
| Radar | 77.0% | 2.9% | China | 26.5× |
| Sonar and underwater acoustics | 71.6% | 4.1% | China | 17.4× |
| Electronic warfare | 81.0% | 1.4% | China | 55.9× |
| Hyperspectral imaging | 71.4% | 4.2% | China | 16.9× |
| Optical communication | 38.8% | 12.4% | China | 3.1× |
| 6G and advanced wireless | 39.9% | 6.2% | China | 6.5× |
| Small satellites | 12.9% | 13.7% | United States | 1.1× |
| Advanced aircraft engines | 64.6% | 4.9% | China | 13.1× |
| Hypersonic flight | 65.9% | 7.4% | China | 8.9× |
| Drones and swarming | 52.2% | 5.0% | China | 10.4× |
| Autonomous underwater vehicles | 71.7% | 3.7% | China | 19.2× |
| Space launch | 34.8% | 12.3% | China | 2.8× |
| Directed energy | 57.5% | 4.3% | China | 13.4× |
| Electric batteries | 68.0% | 7.6% | China | 8.9× |
| Supercapacitors | 46.3% | 2.3% | China | 20.5× |
| Perovskite solar cells | 53.9% | 6.5% | China | 8.2× |
| Hydrogen by electrolysis | 53.0% | 4.3% | China | 12.3× |
| Nuclear fusion | 14.8% | 27.5% | United States | 1.9× |
| Nuclear fission power | 43.3% | 22.1% | China | 2.0× |
| Hydrogen storage and ammonia fuel | 44.5% | 4.2% | China | 10.6× |
| Additive manufacturing | 34.0% | 11.3% | China | 3.0× |
| Critical minerals processing | 43.0% | 13.8% | China | 3.1× |
| Metamaterials | 55.5% | 8.8% | China | 6.3× |
| Magnets and superconductors | 35.0% | 14.2% | China | 2.5× |
| Advanced composites | 50.8% | 6.0% | China | 8.4× |
| Gene editing | 27.4% | 32.2% | United States | 1.2× |
| mRNA vaccines and therapeutics | 16.1% | 38.7% | United States | 2.4× |
| Synthetic biology | 45.7% | 15.0% | China | 3.1× |
| Genome sequencing | 27.6% | 33.6% | United States | 1.2× |
| New antibiotics and antivirals | 30.3% | 15.3% | China | 2.0× |
Source: OpenAlex, pulled 18 October 2026. Method
Questions
Is China ahead of the US in technology?
In research output that others build on, China leads in 37 of 45 critical technologies and the US in 8, based on shares of the 10% most-cited papers published 2021–2025. Research leadership is not the same as industrial or military leadership.
Where does the United States still lead?
High-performance computing, Quantum computing, Atomic clocks, Small satellites, Nuclear fusion, Gene editing, mRNA vaccines and therapeutics and Genome sequencing.
Is the trend moving toward China?
Comparing 2021–2023 with 2024–2025 years, the US share of top papers fell in 37 of 45 technologies and China's rose in 38.
Is China's lead inflated by Chinese researchers citing each other?
Only a little, once size is taken into account. On the 5 technologies tested so far, removing only the home citations beyond what China's share of each field predicts moved its share by a few points, and no leader changed. Removing every home citation cuts China far more, but that mostly reflects China writing most of these fields. A published study (Qiu, Steinwender and Azoulay, Journal of International Economics, 2025) finds China has the largest home bias across science as a whole; it measures average impact rather than shares of the top papers in narrow technologies.
What this does not measure
Citations show how much other researchers build on a country's work. They say nothing direct about factories, companies, chips in production or weapons. Fields that publish mainly at conferences are counted from all sources; see each technology's page and the method. For every other country's standing, see the most technologically advanced countries and the countries table.