China has its eye on becoming the top science nation in the world, overtaking the US and European nations, according to researchers.

After being the world’s main source of cheap manufactured goods, China is investing heavily in science and technology.

“China hopes to become one of the leading sources of intellectual property in coming years,” said Denis Simon, a professor at Penn State University who is also the science and technology adviser to the mayor of the Chinese city of Dalian.

At a time when the US and Europe are hamstrung by shrinking budgets, China has increased spending on science and technology “significantly”, Dr Simon said at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.“The Chinese have indicated that by 2020 they hope to spend around 2.5 per cent of GDP on research and development.”

In the US, meanwhile, Republican lawmakers are talking about trimming a $1 billion from the National Institutes of Health, the world’s largest public research institute, and slashing funds for other science and research agencies, in a bid to narrow a $1 trillion deficit.