Chinese science.

Jonathan D. Moreno, writing in the Science Progress blog, takes note of the latest signs of the new Eastern superpower’s growth. China’s not just an economic powerhouse, but is on its way up in science, too:

Both the quality as well as the quantity of Chinese science is rapidly improving. Their system enables focused investment and rapid adjustment to new opportunities. Although I have written that America’s cultural advantages should keep us in the lead for a long time to come by most metrics (publications, patents, etc.), we need to consider whether we are doing enough to leverage the strengths that China can bring for our own benefit. Mostly we think in competitive terms, about the quality of our science and engineering preparation. But we should also be thinking in ways that account for the cooperative nature of science. For example, is our immigration policy keyed to the best and the brightest in emerging science and technology? Is our visa system as flexible as it could be?

Moreno’s a science history/science sociology guy, so these seem like natural questions to ask – but they also seem kind of fundamental and important. “How do we do this better?”

[via TAWOP]

Tags: research