Last year, a major Chinese institution approached me with a proposal, and it was simple and tempting:
- Research Funding: A yearly grant between $180,000 and $280,000 for 2–3 years.
- Minimal Commitment: Just one hour a week to mentor students and provide updates.
- Global Exposure: A one-week annual visit or sabbatical in China to engage collaborators.
They had studied one of my PhD publications, a body of work patented and partially licensed to the U.S. Government, and wanted me to guide their students in extending that research frontier. On the surface, it looked like a clean path to nearly $600,000 with minimal effort. But beneath the surface, it was a poison pill. Accepting such an offer would violate U.S. scientific-engagement regulations, rules created to protect sensitive intellectual domains. So, out of caution and respect for those boundaries, I declined. (My company is Intel’s only programmable microprocessor knowledge partner in Africa; so the vectors were multidimensional).
Yet, this experience is not unique. Every quarter, any serious U.S. technologist receives an inquiry from China. And to escape regulatory pitfalls, many quietly relocate to Hong Kong, where they can collaborate without stepping on U.S. legal landmines. The implication is clear: China is rising, and rising fast. Its universities are overtaking the world’s most prestigious institutions.
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Today: “Harvard University has fallen to third place in global research rankings, overtaken by China’s Zhejiang University. Eight of the world’s top ten institutions in research output are now Chinese.” — LinkedIn News.
Some dismiss this as low-quality output. That is a mistake. Except in ultra-niche semiconductor research, China is now at parity with the West. And companies like BYD, which has leapfrogged Tesla in multiple EV metrics, stand as living evidence that China’s research output is real, applied, and market-validated.
Across human history, knowledge has always been the currency of power. Every great empire, from Babylon to Rome to the British Empire, rose on the wings of intellectual superiority. If China dominates the world’s knowledge production, it will dominate the world, full stop. This pattern has played out for centuries, and history does not lie. This is looking like the Age of China!
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China Rising is in substance and outputs, while Africa Rising is a phrase and slogan. The difference is clear. The market is always the clearest evidence of who’s doing what. Just check products on the market and who the makers are. We will join the conversation when our outputs become noticeable.
If say you had accepted, from the time you arrive to when you leave each, they would have used surveillance and mapped and tracked all your moves, even your computer logins, they would have used a spyware to infiltrate your personal effects, and copied all your files, your ideas and and IP. And they will just be saying Yes Sir! to all your micro and chicken change knowledge transfers and hailing you. Meanwhile in the background they already have all the proprietary information they needed from you with little effort.