China is slowly becoming a leading country in innovation. Relative to its peer countries China is far ahead in innovation and R&D spending. While a few years ago the country was known as the “shopping floor for world’s manufacturing” that is no longer the case.

Because of its one-party system and the absence of some social ills that tend to affect democratic countries such as its peers Brazil and India, China is moving up rapidly in many fields. For example, it has became a leader in developing high-speed rail networks and has the world’s longest high-speed rail network. It is also advancing in space exploration. This week’s launch of quantum hack-proof communication satellite is one example.

The following infographic shows how China is leading other countries based on select metrics:

Click to enlarge

Source: China Daily