China pulls far ahead of India in turning PhDs into domestic science

Mettis Global reported that China has moved well ahead of India in turning PhD training into domestic science, even though both countries send large numbers of US-trained researchers abroad. According to Nature Index annual tables, China's fractional output across 145 leading natural-science journals reached 32,122 in 2024, above the United States at 22,083. Atif Mian made the point on LinkedIn, noting that India's count for 2023 was only 1,494.

On Clarivate's Highly Cited Researchers list, the US accounted for 37.4% of the global total in 2025 and China for 19.7%. India's share has stood near 0.3% since data became available, though the latest published figure dates from 2022. The report ties the gap to R&D spending: China's gross expenditure climbed from the mid-1990s, while India's has remained largely flat.

Atif Mian argued that China actively expanded domestic R&D and attracted scientists home by building research infrastructure, a push India did not match to the same degree. In his view, talent supply is not the issue, since both nations keep sending strong researchers through the American system, but only China has consistently brought them back. He also outlined a two-part lesson for developing economies: send top minds abroad when needed while investing heavily in local universities, labs and commercial science links.