The Members Forum

China's focus on science and technology is relentless, and it's occurring at all levels of its society. Its labor pool is becoming increasingly sophisticated, its leadership is focused on innovation, and the country is adopting policies designed to pressure U.S. firms to transfer their technology.

The trend is causing increasing worry in Washington, but there are five reasons why China may yet succeed in its goal to achieve world dominance in technology.

1. China's leadership understands engineering

In China, eight of the nine members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau, including the Chinese president, Hu Jintao, have engineering degrees; one has a degree in geology.

Of the 15 U.S. cabinet members, six have law degrees. Only one cabinet member has a hard-science degree -- Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, who won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1997, has a doctorate in physics. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have law degrees.

2. China's leadership wants to out-innovate the U.S.

China's political leadership has made technological innovation a leading goal in everything from supercomputers to nanotech. One highlight of this is China's investment in clean energy technologies.

In March, the Pew Charitable Trusts reported that China led the U.S. in clean energy investments. Last year, the country invested $34.6 billion in clean energy, nearly double the U.S. total of $16.8 billion, Pew said.

Computerworld has the Editorial HERE!