According to a detailed report published by the Chinese media outlet Sina.com, 40 statistical indicators show a wide gap remaining between China and the U. S. as world powers. While Beijing says it is closing some of those gaps, overall they remain great, and "the gap between China and the United States in science, technology, and education indicators is even greater."
China's "economic structure and efficiency will still be about 30 years behind the United States," states the report, adding that in terms of "scientific and technological innovation capability, China lags behind the United States, and the gap is very obvious, and [it] will not surpass the United States in the near future."
In sum, the report states that "the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic is causing a major readjustment in the world landscape" and that "the gap between China and the United States is also changing dramatically." It concludes: "However, the overall national strength of the United States is strong, China has great development potential, the United States has advanced technology, and China has a huge market. The essence of the gap between China and the United States is still the gap between the largest developing country and the largest developed country, which is difficult to change in the short term."
Below is the report published by Sina.com:[1]
(Source: Facebook.com)
With The Same 40 Indicators, The United States Led In 68% Of The Indicators And China Led In 32% Of The Indicators
"Around the outbreak of the trade war between China and the United States up to the present, some people think that China's six major strengths in economy, science and technology, education, culture, medical care, and military have surpassed the United States in an all-round way, while others believe that China cannot surpass the United States even if it takes another 100 years.
"There have been endless disputes between those who are arrogant and those who feel inferior. Two years ago, in the book Filling The Trap Of The Second Largest Economy: The Gap Between China And The United States And Its Trend,[2] 40 indicators were used to compare the gap between China and the United States. Among them, the United States led in 70% of the indicators and China led in 30% of the indicators. Two years later, the number of China's Fortune 500 companies surpassed that of the United States for the first time, and the business environment ranking improved by 32 places over the previous year. With the same 40 indicators, the United States led in 68% of the indicators and China led in 32% of the indicators. China's leading indicators are still quantitative indicators, while the United States has obvious advantages in economic quality indicators. The gap between China and the United States in science, technology and education indicators is even greater.
I - National Strength Landscape: Developed Countries Vs. Developing China
"As the world's only superpower, the United States ranks first in economy, science and technology, education, and military strength, and is the world's economic, scientific and technological, human resources, and military center. The data show that the US has strong overall national strength and high development quality, while China has a fast growth rate and great development potential. The gap in comprehensive national strength between China and the United States is quite obvious, and some gaps are difficult to overcome in the short to medium term. 'China threat theory' and 'China transcendence theory' both lack scientific basis, and 'China development theory' is the irrefutable argument.
1.Population: China Is 4.3 Times The Size Of The United States
"According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China and the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States, the total population of China in 2019 was 1.4 billion, while that of the United States was 329 million. China's land area and population were 1.05 and 4.3 times that of the United States, respectively. The urbanization rate of the United States was 20 percentage points higher than that of China, and the aging rate was 5 percentage points higher than that of China.
2. Per Capita Arable Land: The United States Is 5.2 Times The Size Of China
"According to the data of the World Bank, in 2016 the arable land area of the United States was 152.63 million hectares, accounting for 10.1% of the world's total arable land (1501.51 million hectares), making it the largest country in the world with 0.47 hectares of arable land per capita. China's arable land area was 118.9 million hectares, 0.09 hectares per capita, and the per capita arable land area of the United States was 5.2 times that of China.
3. Countries With Diplomatic Ties: The United States Has Relations With 10 More Countries Than China
"By the end of September 2019, all countries except the DPRK, Iran and Bhutan had established diplomatic relations with the United States, and 180 countries had established diplomatic relations with China, which means that 10 more countries had established diplomatic relations with the United States than with China. According to the Global Diplomacy Index released in November 2019 by the Lowy Institute for International Policy, an Australian think tank, China had 276 diplomatic missions abroad, three more than the United States. China had surpassed the United States and had the largest diplomatic network in the world.
4. Per Capita Income: The United States Is 8.4 Times That Of China
"In 2018, China's per capita disposable income was about 28,228 yuan, which was about 4,265.7 US dollars based on the exchange rate of the year. In the same period, the per capita income of the United States was 36,000 US dollars, which means that the per capita disposable income of the United States was 8.4 times that of China.
5. Per Capita Final Consumption Expenditure: The United States Is 15.2 Times That Of China
"In 2018, the per capita final consumption expenditure of Chinese residents was about 2,823 US dollars, compared with 43,000 US dollars in the United States, which was 15.2 times that of China.
6. Household Savings Rate: China Is 4.8 times That Of The United States
"Since the 1970s, China's household savings rate has always been among the highest in the world. Since 2010, China's household savings rate has continued to decline, reaching 36.8 percent in 2018. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the United States household savings rate in 2018 was about 7.6%. As a result, China's household savings rate was 4.8 times that of the United States.
7. Per Capita Housing Area: The United States Is 1.7 Times That Of China
"According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China, in 2018, the per capita floor space of residents in China was 39 square meters. According to relevant data from the United States, the per capita floor space of residents in the United States was about 65 square meters, which was 1.7 times that of China.
8. Average Life Expectancy: The United States Has 2.1 Years More Than China
"According to the Statistical Bulletin on the Development of China's Health Undertakings in 2018 released by the National Health Commission, the average life expectancy of Chinese residents in 2018 was 77 years, an increase of 42 years from 35 years in 1949. According to the 2018 World Health Statistics released by the World Health Organization, the average life expectancy of the United States was 78.5 years, ranking the 34th in the world, while China ranks the 52nd in the world at 76.4 years. The average life expectancy of the United States was 2.1 years higher than that of China.
9. Health Spending Per Capita: The United States Is 17 Times That Of China
"China's per capita health spending is far lower than that of the United States, which was 4,148.1 yuan in 2018, or about 644.5 US dollars, while the per capita health spending in the United States was 11,172 US dollars in the same period, 17 times that of China. An important reason for the huge gap in medical expenditure between China and the United States is that the commercial medical insurance industry in the United States is relatively developed, while the commercial medical insurance industry in China is still in its infancy.
10. Engel Coefficient: China Is 3.3 Times That Of The United States
"From 1978 to 2018, China's per capita consumption expenditure increased by 107 times. In 2018, the Engel coefficient was 28.4 percent in China, ranking China among the richest countries recognized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The Engel coefficient in the United States was 8.7 percent over the same period, while in China it was 3.3 times higher.
11. Energy Consumption Per Capita: The United States Is 3.1 Times Higher Than China
"According to the Statistical Review of World Energy (2019), in 2018, primary energy consumption in the United States reached 2,300.6 million tons of oil equivalent (MTOE), while in China it was 3,273 million tons of oil equivalent. The per capita primary energy consumption in the United States was 294.8 gigajoules, while in China it was 96.9 gigajoules. The per capita energy consumption in the United States was 3.1 times higher than that in China. China's railway and road mileage was equal to 58 percent and 73 percent of that of the United States. The number of airports in the United States was 29.7 times that of China, and the air traffic volume was about twice that of China. The operating length of rail transit in the United States was 3.6 times that of China. In 2018, China's logistics development index was 3.6, lower than the 3.9 in the United States.
12. Museums And Libraries: 5.4 Times As Many In The United States As In China
"According to the data, there are 16,700 museums and 16,968 public libraries in the United States. On average, there is one museum and public library for less than 18,000 people. China has about 6,200 museums and libraries. The United States has 5.4 times as many museums and libraries as China.
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13. Military spending: The United States Is 3.7 Times As Much As China
"Global military spending reached $1.8 trillion in 2018, the highest in 30 years, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in Sweden. The US military expenditure was 643 billion US dollars, accounting for 36 percent of the global military expenditure, while China's was 171.58 billion US dollars, the United States military spending was 3.7 times that of China.
II - Economic Landscape: China's Economic Aggregate Is Expected To Surpass The United States In The Future While Lagging Behind In Per Capita GDP
"From the perspective of the world economy, in 2018, China and the United States accounted for 40 percent of the world's GDP, 54 percent of the world's stock market, 23 percent of the world's trade, the US dollar and China's RMB accounted for 74 percent of the world currency circulation.
"The essence of the trade war between China and the United States is a 'world economic war.' Since the United States became the world's largest economy in 1890, all the world's previous second largest economies have declined without exception and lost their status as the second largest economy. Whether China can become the first second largest economy without recession in the past 131 years has attracted worldwide attention.
"The truth of the China-US trade war is the new 'second largest economy trap,' in other words, the United States wants both China's money and its 'life.'
"The trend of a trade war is that 'The United States will not tolerate being overtaken; China will not give up on its own development.' As long as the United States does not monopolize the fruits of the new scientific and technological revolution, and China does not make subversive mistakes, it is only a matter of time before China's economic aggregate surpasses that of the United States, but its economic structure and efficiency will still be about 30 years behind the United States.
"Over the past two years since the outbreak of the trade war between China and the United States, despite a 7.2 percent decline in China-US trade volume, the proportion of China's GDP to US GDP has not decreased, but increased by 4.6 percentage points, and the trade surplus with the United States has also increased by 20 billion US dollars. Of course, China's economic development is still confronted with potential deep-seated problems such as the outflow of enterprises and capital. The trade war may escalate after the outbreak. The United States has advanced science and technology and China has a huge market. Only when technology is combined with the market can the effect of technology be magnified and the market's potential be exploited. China-US economic cooperation can not only achieve a win-win situation for both countries, but also drive all countries in the world to achieve a multiple win situation.
14. China's GDP Growth Rate In Recent 70 Years Was 9 Times Higher Than US GDP Rates
"During the 70 years from 1949 to 2019, China's GDP increased from 46.6 billion yuan to 99,086.5 billion yuan, an increase of 2,125.3 times in nominal terms. In terms of US dollars, from 1949 to 2019, China's GDP grew from US $20.26 billion to US $14.36 trillion, an increase of 707.8 times. In the same period, the US GDP increased from US $272.8 billion to US $21.43 trillion, an increase of 77.6 times. China's GDP growth rate over the past 70 years was 9.0 times that of the US. During the 41 years from 1978 to 2019, China's GDP increased by 95 times in dollar terms, while that of the US increased by 8.1 times. China's GDP growth rate in the past 41 years was 10.5 times that of the United States.
15. Total GDP: China Is 67.8% Of That Of The United States
"According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China and the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States, the total GDP of the United States from 2017 to 2019 is about 19.39, 20.54 and 21.43 trillion US dollars, and China's GDP is 12.25, 13.6 and 13.9 trillion US dollars, respectively. China's GDP accounts for 63.2 percent, 66.2 percent and 67.8percent of the United States, respectively.
16. Annual GDP Growth In Recent Years: China Is 2.7 Times That Of The United States
"According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's GDP growth rate from 2017 to 2019 is 6.9 percent, 6.5 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively. Over the same period, the US GDP growth rate is 2.3 percent, 2.9 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively. China's GDP growth rate is 3 times, 2.2 times and 2.65 times that of the United States, respectively.
17. Labor Productivity: The United States Is About 12 Times That Of China
"According to the statistics of the World Labor Organization, since the 21st century, China's labor productivity has jumped from US $2,023 in 2000 to the current US $8,253, while the US labor productivity reached US $81,316 as early as 2000 and exceeded US $100,000 in 2017, reaching US $101,101. The United States labor productivity is about 12 times that of China.
18. Ratio Of Tertiary Industry To GDP: The United States Is 27.1 Percentage Points Higher Than China
"According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the proportion of primary, secondary and tertiary industries in China's GDP in 2018 is 7.0 percent, 39.7 percent and 53.3 percent, respectively; the proportion of primary, secondary and tertiary industries in China's GDP in 2019 is 7.1 percent, 39.0 percent and 53.9 percent, respectively. According to data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, the proportion of primary, secondary and tertiary industries in US GDP in 2018 is 1 percent, 17 percent and 82 percent, respectively; and the proportion of primary, secondary and tertiary industries in US GDP in 2019 is 0.8 percent, 18.2 percent and 81 percent, respectively. In 2019, China's tertiary industry's share of GDP was 27.1 percentage points smaller than that of the United States and only equal to the level of the United States 60 years ago.
19. Per capita GDP: The United States Is 6.3 Times Larger Than China
"In 2019, China's per capita GDP exceeded US $10,000 for the first time, reaching US $10,300. The per capita GDP of the United States was US $65,000 that year, 6.3 times which of China, and China ranked only 74th in the world.
20. National Debt: US Federal Government Debt Is 14.7 Times That Of China
"According to a report by the Institute of International Finance (IIF), the United States had a total debt of $69 trillion in 2018, 3.4 times that of US GDP and 28 percent of the total global debt. At the end of 2018, China's government debt was about 33.4 trillion yuan, or 4.7 trillion US dollars, accounting for 37.0 percent of China's GDP in 2018.
21. Added Value Of Primary Industry: China's Output Is 6 Times That Of The United States
"According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the added value of China's primary industry in 2018 and 2019 was 978.2 billion US dollars and 1,021.5 billion US dollars respectively. In the same period, according to the data of US Bureau of Economic Analysis, the added value of US primary industry was 164.2 billion US dollars and 169.2 billion US dollars respectively. In 2018 and 2019, the added value of China's primary industry was 5.96 times and 6.04 times that of the United States respectively.
22. Added Value Of Secondary Industry: China Is 1.4 Times That Of The United States
"According to the data of China's National Bureau of Statistics, the added value of China's secondary industry in 2018 and 2019 was US $5,530.87 billion and US $5,597.8 billion respectively. In the same period, according to the data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, the added value of the US secondary industry was US $3,815.1 billion and US $3,901.4 billion respectively. In 2018 and 2019, the added value of China's secondary industry was 1.5 times and 1.4 times that of the United States.
23. Added Value Of The Tertiary Industry: China's Is Only 45% Of That Of The United States
"According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the added value of China's tertiary industry was US $7.096 trillion in 2018 and US $7.7442 trillion in 2019. Over the same period, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, the added value of the tertiary industry in the United States was US $16.51475 trillion and US $17.3571 trillion respectively. In 2018 and 2019, the added value of China's tertiary industry was 44 percent and 45 percent of that of the Unites States, respectively.
24. International Trade: China's Trade Surplus With The United States Is $295.8 Billion
"According to statistics from China's General Administration of Customs, the total import and export value of China's trade in goods was 31.53 trillion yuan in 2019, up 3.4 percent from 2018, and the trade surplus was 2.92 trillion yuan, up 25.4 percent. However, the trade war resulted in a 14.6 percent drop in China-US trade, including a 12.5 percent drop in China's exports to the United States and a 20.9 percent drop in US exports to China. From 2017 to 2019, China-US trade volume was US $583.697 billion, US $633.52 billion and US $541.223 billion, respectively. China's trade surplus with the United States was US $275.8 billion, US $323.3 billion and US $295.8 billion in the same period. Compared with the year of 2017, which was before the outbreak of China-US trade war, the trade volume between China and the United States decreased by US $ 42.474 billion or 7.2 percent in 2019, and China's trade surplus with the United States increased by US $ 20 billion.
25. Fortune 500 Companies: China Has 9 More Companies Than The United States
"According to the data of the 2019 Fortune Global 500 rankings, the number of listed companies in China has increased to 129 and a total of 120 companies from the United States have made the list. China surpassed the United States for the first time in history, with nine more listed enterprises than the US. Even excluding Taiwanese enterprises, there are 119 mainland Chinese listed companies, including those in Hong Kong, only one less than the United States.
26. Doing Business: The United States Ranks 38 Places Ahead Of China
"According to the World Bank's Doing Business 2019 report, China ranks 46th in the world in terms of the ease of doing business, up 32 places from the previous year, and is listed as one of the top 10 countries with the most significant improvement in the ease of doing business in 2018, with the United States ranking 8th and leading China by 38 places.
27. Incremental Contribution To The Global Economy: China Is Twice As Large As The United States
"According to calculations by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), China's economy contributed 30 percent of the world's economic growth in 2018, ranking first in the world, compared with 15.3 percent for the United States. China's contribution was about twice that of the United States.
III - Innovation Landscape: Similar Indicators, China Continues To Lag In Quality
"In recent domestic and foreign rankings of five categories of scientific and technological innovation capacity, China lags behind the United States, and the gap is very obvious, and will not surpass the United States in the near future.
28. Innovation Indicators: China Leads In 6 Quantity Indicators And The United States Leads In 7 Quality Indicators
"According to the analysis of 13 indicators commonly used in the international innovation system, China leads in 6 indicators, including research and development (R&D) personnel, scientific and technological journal papers, engineering index papers (EI), patent application volume, high-tech product export, and Global 500 enterprises, among which 4 are quantitative indicators. The United States leads in seven innovation quality indicators, including international science and technology papers (SCI), research and development funds, international conference proceedings citation indexes (cpci-s), PCT patents, national innovative index, World Top 100 universities and World Top 500 brands.
29. Thesis: The Number Of Papers In The Top 100 Of Front-Line Science In The United States Is Seven Times That Of China
"Due to the inconsistent statistical criteria, China and the United States both believe that the number of papers produced by the other country ranks first in the world. According to China Statistical Yearbook on Science and Technology 2017, in 2017, there were 472,000 domestic science and technology papers, 361,000 international science and technology papers (SCI), 226,000 engineering index papers (EI), and 86,000 international conference proceedings citation indexes (cpci-s). According to the research report of the National Science Foundation (NSF)of the United States, Chinese scholars as the first author published 426,000 papers in 2016, nearly 65,000 more than the number of international scientific papers (SCI papers) in China's statistics (including some non-international journal papers), while American scholars published 409,000 academic papers in the same period. The quality of US papers was significantly higher than that of China, Of the TOP 100 list of the world's most discussed scientific papers published by Altmetric in 2018, 72 were from the United States and only 11 from China.
30. PCT Patents: The United States Is 1.2 Times More Than China
"Statistics from World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) show that China's PCT patent applications maintain a fast growth rate. China accounted for 30 percent of patents granted globally in 2017, compared with 23 percent, 14 per cent, 9 percent and 8 percent in the US, Japan, South Korea and Europe, respectively. Although China ranks first in both the number of patent applications and the number of patent authorization in the world, the number of international patent applications is obviously insufficient. The number of PCT patent applications in China increased from more than 18,000 in 2012 to more than 48,000 in 2017, with an average annual growth rate of 21.3 percent. As of May 2017, the United States accounted for 24.6 percent of PCT patent applications globally, while China accounted for 20.3 percent.
31. R&D funding: The United States Is 1.9 Times That Of China
"In 2018, China's R&D expenditure was about 296.9 billion US dollars, while the United States invested 573.8 billion US dollars in R&D. China's R&D expenditure accounted for 2.2 percent of GDP, lower than the 2.8 percent of the US. The US R&D expenditure was 1.9 times that of China, but China was one of the countries with the fastest growth in R&D expenditure in the world.
32. Research And Development Focus: The United States Attaches Importance To Biology And China Attaches Importance To Information
"From 2005 to 2018, the proportion of expenditure on biological and medical research and development in the United States to its federal civil research and development funds has always remained above 50 percent. In addition, a series of national science and technology development strategy reports released by the United States, such as the Strategy for American Innovation, the National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing, the National Bioeconomy Blueprint and the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, indicate that the United States has focused its research and development spending on health, science and space. In 2016, the biological and medical papers in the United States accounted for 61.6 percent of all natural science papers, ranking fourth in the world, while that in China was 39.2 percent and ranking 37th in the world. It can be seen that the focus of the US government's scientific and technological support is in the field of biotechnology, while the focus of the Chinese government's scientific and technological support is in the field of information technology.
33. Innovation Index: The United States Is 11 Places Higher Than China
"Over the past few years, the five major global evaluation institutions (China Academy of Science and Technology for Development, World Intellectual Property Organization, International Institute for Management Development in Switzerland, World Economic Forum, Bloomberg News) rated China's science and technology innovation index in the range of 13-27 (ranked 14th in 2018), and the US's science and technology innovation index has always ranked the top 6. In other words, China's innovation index was 9-23 different from that of the United States respectively. The World Intellectual Property Organization announced that China's national innovation capability ranked 17th in 2018, Switzerland ranked 1st, the United States ranked 6th, and the difference between China and the United States was 11.
34. Export Of High-Tech Products: China Is 4.9 Times That Of The United States
"In 2018, China's high-tech products exports totaled US $ 747.9 billion, while that of the United States was US $ 153 billion, and China was 4.9 times that of the United States. China's high-tech exports accounted for 25 percent of finished products exports, while that of the United States accounted for 20 percent. An important reason for the gap between China and the United States in the export of high-tech products is the industrial transfer policy of the United States, which focuses on design, research and development and sales while shifting production to China and other countries. In addition, from the Top 100 Chinese exporters to the United States in 2016, it can be seen that the proportion of China's export structure is that foreign enterprises account for 70 percent, while mainland enterprises only account for 30 percent.
35. Intellectual Property Imports: The United States Is 1.7 Times That Of China
"In the 2018 global ranking of intellectual property import costs, China ranked fourth after the United States, while Ireland ranked first. The import expense of China on intellectual property was 35.8 billion US dollars, while that of the United States was 53.75 billion US dollars. Among them, 72.6 percent of the import expense of China's intellectual property comes from the manufacturing sector, and a large proportion of it comes from the communication industry.
IV - Educational landscape: There Is A Huge Gap Between China And The United States, And It Is Difficult To Catch Up In The Short Term
"From the perspective of educational structure, there is a huge gap in educational strength between China and the United States. China lags far behind the United States in terms of faculty, student sources, research equipment and even teaching manners and methods. The United States has 4.3 times as many top scientists as China, and spends eight times as much per capita on education. The gap between China and the United States in the field of education is the biggest gap between the two countries, the gap in the number of top talents is the most critical gap between China and the United States, and the talent 'deficit' is the biggest deficit between China and the United States. It takes ten years to grow trees and a hundred years to cultivate people. To narrow the gap in education, a long-term strategic layout should be made.
36. Top 100 Universities In The World: The United States Is 6.7 Times That Of China
"In 2019, the Times Higher Education magazine released its World University Rankings 2020 list, showing that the United States has 40 universities in the top 100, while China has 6 unchanged, and the United States was 6.7 times higher than China. The gap between the two nation's prestigious universities and faculty ranks is one of the largest between China and the United States, and one of the most difficult to narrow.
37. Share Of Education Spending: The United States Is 1.3 Times As Large As China
"China's working-age population has an average of 10.5 years of education, and the average number of years of education for people aged 15 and above has risen from 5.3 years in 1982 to 9.6 years in 2017. In 2018, China's education expenditure accounted for 5.1 percent of GDP, of which the proportion of fiscal expenditure on education in GDP was 4.1 percent, lower than 5.2 percent in the United States, which was 1.3 times that of China.
38. Top Scientists: 4.3 Times As Many In The United States As In China
"According to the list of the world's most cited scientists in 2019 released by Clarivate Analytics, among which 2,737 people from the United States, 735 from China (including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) and 636 from mainland China, the number of top talents from the United States was 3.7 times that of China and 4.3 times that of mainland China. Compared with the data in 2017, the number of top talents in China has increased significantly. As of September 2019, there were 908 Nobel Prize winners in the world, including 377 from the United States and only two from mainland China, which is only 0.5 percent of the number of the United States.
39. Number Of International Students: The United States Is 2.2 Times More Than China
"Data from China's Ministry of Education and the Open Doors 2018 Annual Data Release show that there were 4.85 million international students worldwide and 490,000 students in China. The number of international students in the United States was 1.09 million, which was 2.2 times that of China.
40. College Enrollment Rate: The United States Is 1.8 Times As High As China
"The gross enrollment rate of higher education in China reached 48.1 percent in 2018, an increase of 18.1 percent over 2012, according to the 2018 statistical bulletin on the development of national education released by the Ministry of Education of China. In 2015, the enrollment rate of higher education in the United States was 87 percent, 1.8 times that of China.
"In short, the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic is causing a major readjustment in the world landscape, and the gap between China and the United States is also changing dramatically. However, the overall national strength of the United States is strong, China has great development potential, the United States has advanced technology, and China has a huge market. The essence of the gap between China and the United States is still the gap between the largest developing country and the largest developed country, which is difficult to change in the short term."
