China is increasingly leading the US as the center of global research, and cuts and restrictions on skilled migration are hampering Washington’s fightback.
In 2023, China took the top spot from the US on a Nature database ranking countries and institutions on their contribution to high-quality science, and its lead increased hugely last year.
STEM researchers — especially those of Chinese descent — are leaving the US for China, The Washington Post reported, attracted by funding and research visas, while overseas scientists increasingly feel unwelcome at US institutions. A proposed Congressional ban on funding for US-Chinese collaborations could worsen the situation, researchers told Science.
