The Trump-era mantra of America First continues to fall further and further by the wayside. A new international report out of Australia shows China now leads the world in 37 out of 44 emerging and critical technology fields. That includes development of hypersonic missiles, artificial intelligence, electric batteries, and 5G communications. The report also concludes China is likely to gain a monopoly in 10 tech fields.
While Chinese research institutions dominate in the study, it reveals that about one in five top Chinese researchers were trained in a Western democracy like the U.S., Britain or Australia. Much in the same way American companies are helping bankroll Chinese power, American schools are helping China beat us in the knowledge race. "We are training most of the Chinese scientists that are conducting this research," says Chuck DeVore with the Texas Public Policy Foundation. "They come to American universities and take away our most advanced knowledge."
"Beyond that, they're just stealing this knowledge," he continues. "Generally from our universities, but also from the federal government and from defense contractors."
The big issue is that, like American corporations, American universities can't quit the Chinese cash flow. "They love it when Chinese students come to American universities and pay full freight, and they love it when China gives millions of dollars to their facilities," says DeVore.
Devore believes the solution is a crackdown on China's infiltration of our education system. "I think we have to say to universities, if you get any federal money whatsoever for research, you can't take any money from China," he tells KTRH. "And probably you shouldn't have any Chinese students in post-graduate studies, either."