On August 9, 2026, Chinese media Cankao Xiaoxi reported that a Japanese survey revealed China's R&D investment had surpassed that of the United States to become the world's top as of 2024.

The article introduced that according to 'Science and Technology Indicators 2026,' announced on the 7th by Japan's National Institute of Science and Technology Policy (NISTEP) under MEXT, China's R&D expenditure for 2024 reached 97.1 trillion yen, a 13.1% increase year-on-year, surpassing the United States' 95.3 trillion yen (up 6.7% year-on-year) to become the world's top for the first time. The article further stated that China had previously surpassed the United States in the total number of papers (2017), "top 10% highly cited papers" (2018), and "top 1% highly cited papers" (since 2019), and that with this achievement of the top spot in R&D expenditure, it has become world-class in both funding and results.

Furthermore, the article introduced reports from Japanese media stating that this rapid growth was driven by 'corporate investment,' which was particularly prominent in fields such as computers and electronic/optical products, and that the US export restrictions on advanced semiconductors and manufacturing equipment since 2022 conversely accelerated domestic independent development in China, leading to achievements such as the development of the world's fastest supercomputers.

Regarding this matter, many ironic comments were received from Chinese netizens, suggesting that US sanctions actually promoted domestic technological innovation. Examples included: 'In recent years, since the US completely blocked exports of advanced chips and equipment, domestic industries had no choice but to develop independently. This achievement of the top spot was truly seized by our own strength,' and 'It was precisely the US restrictions that spurred our R&D. Thank you.'

Additionally, comments were also seen indicating that people are feeling the tangible benefits of technological self-sufficiency in their daily lives, such as 'In recent years, domestic substitutes have increased, and their progress is visibly fast.'

On the other hand, calm voices were also heard, such as: 'Becoming top in terms of scale is a big milestone, but it doesn't mean that science and technology have become world-leading across the board. Even if the total investment is large, basic research and other areas must be further strengthened,' and 'Funding is only the first step; efficiently using funds is what's truly important. We must be wary of fraudulent research funding through substandard papers.'

In addition to this, there were also users who expressed realistic fundamental arguments that the lives and happiness of the people should be prioritized over macro-level competition between nations, as well as wariness regarding Japan's intention in making the announcement. (Edited/Translated by Kawajiri)