On Thursday, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), released its latest study showing that out of 44 critical and emerging technologies, China is leading the world in 37 of them. The security think tank notes that China is now the world’s leading science and technology superpower.

The Critical Technology Tracker from ASPI examines a range of vital research sectors, including, defense, space, robotics, energy, the environment, biotechnology, artificial intelligence (AI), advanced materials and key quantum technology fields. Most alarmingly, the report noted that in some fields, all of the top ten research institutions in that field were in China.

ASPI noted that China has particularly excelled in defense and space-related technologies, writing, “China’s strides in nuclear-capable hypersonic missiles reportedly took US intelligence by surprise in August 2021.”

The report went on to note that China has produced 48.49% of the world’s highest impact research papers on advanced aircraft engines, among them hypersonic engines.

Funded by the US State Department, the study placed the US in second place in that race, however it noted the US led the world in research into high-performance computing, quantum computing, and vaccines.

The report emphasized, “Our dataset reveals that there’s a large gap between China and the US, as the leading two countries, and everyone else.”

The report went on to note, “Western democracies are losing the global technological competition, including the race for scientific and research breakthroughs,” and concluded there needed to be more invested into research by those nations.