Will China surpass the USA in investments for Science by the end of 2021?
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The USA has been an "uncontested leader" in science and engineering, registering more science funding than any other country in the world. From 2000 to 2017, the US government increased its research and development funding at an average rate of 4.3% per year, keeping it greater than the entire European Union's funding combined. However, it seems that the US hegemony may be about to end.
China is closing the gap in science funding: the Asian country registered an average growth of 17% in its total science-related investments per year from 2000-2017. The latest data coming from the US National Science Foundation, from 2017, showed that China had invested U$500 billion in science, while the US had invested around U$550 billion. Preliminary data from 2019 suggests that China might have already surpassed the United States in science spending, but the official report, which can confirm such numbers or not, will only be released in January 2021.
If the US National Science Foundation report of 2021 confirms that China invested more in Science in a single year than the United States, this question will be resolved as "Yes".