China will take off in biotechnology, with new kinds of seed, and how much will it take for the next generation of scientists? Predictions from a Chinese perspective

If allowed to speculate, I would predict that Chinese biotech will take off in agriculture, with new kinds of seed. As for the biomedical sphere, my predictions would be gene therapy, neurodegenerative diseases, metabolic diseases and cancer, helped by artificial intelligence (AI) and Chinese omics databanks.

If you look at the same leadership layer now, the number who obtained their PhDs abroad is low. At the CAS, the president and vice-presidents all have PhDs from Chinese institutes. Yet China is trying hard to get the best scientists, especially those with doctorates from top international universities.

China will remain behind the United States as long as it does not have an NIH equivalent. If the administration of US President Donald Trump keeps cutting funds for the NIH and NIH-supported institutions, including Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Columbia University in New York City, then China will catch up or surpass the United States soon.

The Impact of China’s Brain-Research Lab on Research Progress in Low- and Middle-Energy Countries: A Conversation with Rao Yi

He is also very outspoken. In 2008, Rao renounced his US passport to protest against policies brought in by former president George W. Bush after the terror attacks of 11 September 2001. Rao criticized US policies during the COVID-19 pandemic after his uncle died in New York, and vehemently rejected the lab-leak theory. He is a strong advocate for China’s talent-recruitment schemes.

Rao Yi is a leading reformer of science and education in China. Rao began his career in the United States in the 1980s. After he returned to China in 2007, he introduced practices that have revitalized life-sciences research in the country, including the use of tenure and of peer review to evaluate academics’ merits. He runs a leading brain- research lab and holds other leadership positions, is based in Beijing.

In some aspects, the United States is an outlier. Other parts of the world are doing their research with China in a different way, at different times and levels of enthusiasm. Collaborating with China is a no-brainer for researchers in countries that are geographically close, such as South Korea or Singapore. It’s a priority for members of the group to work with China, as well as many other low- and middle-income countries.

One of the best ways to keep research systems protected is for research itself to be carried out and published as transparent as possible. This includes being open about funding sources and data, and subjecting studies to rigorous peer review. With the help of open science, progress made in a single country can benefit other countries. It would be a regressive step to decouple now.