[dv_dt]

The ability to recognize key areas to build up capability is not discernible in absolute R&D numbers (it looks like FY2018 there is about $140B planned in total R&D). The other thing about your numbers is that we need to know if there has been a purchasing power adjustment to make them comparable.

With respect to the US Gov't R&D, you don't mention that about 50% of that R&D is for defense. Personally I would argue that a bigger split to non-defense uses would yield pragmatically better "defense" of the US. Of the non-defense funding, much of it goes to "FFRDCs" Federally Funded R&D Centers. There is this game that the US plays with liberal (in the economic theory sense) firewalls where we have increasingly bought into this ideological stance that the gov't should never compete with private interests. In contrast, I would guess that China's R&D went much more directly towards creating new industries. I think China is being much more pragmatic about it's R&D expenditures than the US.

https://www.aaas.org/page/historical-trends-federal-rd