China, US are in race to connect science with industry. India must catch up

China and the United States are engaged in a race to integrate science with industry, with India striving to catch up. This ambition stems from President Xi Jinping's call to fully leverage the new productive forces unleashed by recent advances in science and technology. Xi believes that China's next phase of growth cannot rely on cheap labor, large-scale manufacturing, infrastructure, and capital accumulation; instead, it must be driven by innovation.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the core of China's strategy, as the country aims to integrate AI across various sectors, including robotics, machine tools, automobiles, biotechnology, materials, energy, agriculture, and scientific research. China's manufacturing sector provides it with an advantage, and Beijing hopes that combining digital intelligence with its vast industrial ecosystem will position China as the leading technological power.

For decades, China absorbed foreign technology, improved it through manufacturing, and dominated production. Now, it seeks to move upstream from adaptation to original discovery. China allocated 2.8% of its GDP to R&D in 2025, with a 11% increase in basic-research expenditure. The manufacturing powerhouse now aims to become a science superpower.

Similarly, the United States is recognizing the need to reintegrate the production of knowledge and manufacturing. Washington's Science: A New Golden Age policy highlights American strengths while acknowledging the erosion of the capacity to turn discoveries into production. Both China and the US see AI not only as a general-purpose technology but as a catalyst for the production of new knowledge that will transform industry and give China and the US a geopolitical edge.

India, recognizing the trend, has launched several new missions, including AI, semiconductor production, and quantum technologies, as well as a draft robotics policy. However, India still faces two significant weaknesses: a concentration of ambition and imagination solely in government declarations, while the private sector drives knowledge production, and the lack of reform in scientific institutions.

India's R&D expenditure is only 0.64% of its GDP, compared to China's 2.8% and the US's 3.5%. The World Intellectual Property Organisation estimates India's total R&D spend at $75 billion, significantly lower than China's $786 billion and the US's $782 billion. India's scientific institutions have not undergone the comprehensive reform seen in China during Deng Xiaoping's Four Modernizations era.

While India's science sector has benefited from access to American universities, China's massive domestic investment in science, higher education, and incentives for researchers to return have set it apart. India's scientific community needs to move beyond posturing and prioritize evidence, experimentation, and a scientific temper to build a robust ecosystem connecting universities, laboratories, entrepreneurs, finance, energy, factories, supply chains, and markets.