China, ascendent

China, ascendent

From PNAS Science Sessions by PNAS

December 29, 2025 · 10 min

About this episode

James Evans discusses the rising leadership of China in global science and its implications.

China's science leadership Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us. In this episode, James Evans explains how and why China's leadership in global science is rising. In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[00:56] Social and complex systems scientist James Evans recounts the recent history of the trajectories of science in the U.S. and in China. •[01:50] He explains how to measure a country's scientific leadership and introduces the data sources used in the study. •[04:18] Evans tells the results of the study, and talks about some areas of science in which China's leadership has particularly advanced. •[06:20] He lists the key takeaways from the study for policymakers and the benefits of global science engagement. •[08:47] Evans talks about the caveats and limitations of the work. •[09:54] Conclusion About Our Guest: James Evans Max…

People in this episode

Guest: James Evans

Topics covered

  • China's science leadership
  • global science engagement
  • scientific research
  • data analysis
  • policy implications

Keywords

  • China
  • science leadership
  • global science
  • James Evans
  • PNAS
  • data sources
  • policy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Chicago, PNAS

Places: China, U.S.

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