Posted on March 8, 2023
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France was once the homeland of inventors. This is no longer the case, according to the study by the Australian think tank Australian Strategic Policy Institute. Now, the technological center of gravity is in the Pacific between the United States and China.
While a number of countries, especially the Anglo-Saxons, manage to maintain good quality scientific research, France, like Europe, is completely dropping out.
Fierce competition between the United States and China at the technological level
China and the United States dominate unchallenged in the 44 leading technology sectors. With an advantage for China, which is ahead of the United States in the majority of technologies with a risk of monopolistic control for some of them (such as electric batteries and hydrogen).
These two countries are also the most likely to attract talent (brain drain) and thus ensure an intellectual breeding ground for research and technological development. While the United States continues to be the number one destination, the study mentions that in China, a fifth of high-impact scientific papers are written by researchers from Anglo-Saxon countries.
Anglo-Saxons and emerging countries in the top 5
As the study mentions, the UK and India both rank among the top five countries in 29 out of 44 technologies. South Korea and Germany are among the top five countries for 20 and 17 technologies, respectively. Australia is listed for nine technologies, Italy (seven technologies), Iran (six), Japan (four) and Canada (four).
We see that the Commonwealth countries (United Kingdom, Australia and Canada) are managing to hold their own. Similarly, Asian countries such as India, Japan and South Korea are at a more than reasonable level.
And France? She is not in the top 5 only in two fields: nuclear energy (5e after the Chinese, Americans, Japanese and Indians) and nuclear waste management (3e after China and the United States). It is thus relegated to a place similar to that of Russia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and the Netherlands, which are only in the top 5 in one area.
After a Europe that politically emerged from History, a Europe that technologically emerged from History?
With the exception of Germany, or even Italy, Europe is virtually absent. France, which was once a technological heart, is now following Russia’s path: a technological decline.
Ironically, Europe has placed energy transition at the heart of its policy. Except that the energy technology sector is entirely dominated by China. Hydrogen, electric batteries and supercapacitors are technologies over which the Chinese have a virtual monopoly.
If this trend continues, France and more generally Europe will very quickly find themselves under Chinese energy control.
