Washington Post wrote that the National Science Foundation and the National Science Board have just released their biennial "Science & Engineering Indicators," a voluminous document describing the state of American technology. There are facts and figures on research and development, innovation and engineers. But the report's main conclusion lies elsewhere: China has become — or is on the verge of becoming — a scientific and technical superpower. We should have expected nothing less. After all, science and technology constitute the knowledge base for economically advanced societies and military powers, and China aspires to become the world leader in both. Still, the actual numbers are breathtaking for the speed with which they've been realized. China has become the second- largest R&D spender, accounting for 21 percent of the world total of nearly $2 trillion in 2015. Only the United States, at 26 percent, ranks higher, but if present growth rates continue, China will soon become the biggest spender. From 2000 to 2015, Chinese R&D outlays grew an average of 18 percent annually, more than four times faster than the U.S. rate of 4 percent. There has been an explosion of technical papers by Chinese teams. Although the United States and the European Union each produce more studies on biomedical subjects, China leads in engineering studies. American papers tend to be cited more often than the Chinese papers , suggesting that they involve more fundamental research questions, but China is catching up. China has dramatically expanded its technical workforce. From 2000 to 2014, the annual number of science and engineering bachelor's degree graduates went from about 359,000 to 1.65 million. Over the same period, the comparable number of U.S. graduates went from about 483,000 to 742,000.

Bloomberg wrote that with the Trump administration warning of a possible war with North Korea, U.S. allies in Asia are sounding the alarm on another risk: a clash with China in the western Pacific. China has recently accelerated air and naval excursions in sensitive areas near Japan and Taiwan, part of a longstanding quest to expand its military presence further from its shores into the Pacific Ocean. Leaders in Tokyo and Taipei have called on Beijing to back off while strengthening their defenses. Earlier this month, Japan observed for the first time a Chinese submarine entering the contiguous zone (12 nautical miles to 24 nautical miles from shore) around disputed islets in the East China Sea. That came shortly after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen warned that China's increased military patrols around the island threatened to destabilize the region. President Donald Trump's "America First" foreign policy has raised concern in Asia about the reliability of the U.S. in helping to stave off Chinese pressure as it gains greater military and economic strength. China has a long-term goal of reuniting with Taiwan, and territorial disputes with countries ranging from Japan to Vietnam to India. "The unpredictability of the Trump administration encourages Tokyo and Taipei to do more for their own defense," said Ja Ian Chong, an associate professor with the National University of Singapore who specializes in Asia-Pacific relations. "Unless resolved in such a way that all sides feel simultaneously assured, the actions can increase tensions in East Asia and raise the potential for some sort of incident."

The Hill reports that the federal government is taking steps to reduce the presence of some Chinese technology firms in American markets. Earlier this month, AT&T scrapped a deal with Chinese phone maker Huawei, reportedly as a result of pressure from anonymous U.S. lawmakers who cited national security concerns. Reuters reported this week that lawmakers are now pressing AT&T to sever all of its commercial ties with Huawei. And the White House blocked two acquisitions of American companies by Chinese firms in recent months, also citing "national security concerns." Lawmakers reportedly are pushing to keep Chinese telecommunications firm China Mobile out of the U.S. for similar reasons...Tai Ming Cheung, director of the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation at the University of California, San Diego, who researches East Asian national security affairs, says officials' renewed interest in corporate threats is a result of China's rising economic profile. "The increased scrutiny of China is from an integration of national security and economic security," Cheung said. "To the U.S. before, China was a military threat. Now its threat has broadened to the economic side of things as well." Still, efforts to restrict Chinese access to the U.S. market broadly could create trouble for the tech sector, which is increasingly doing business in that country.