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Commentary

Nature 454, 398-401 (24 July 2008) | doi:10.1038/454398a; Published online 23 July 2008

China: The prizes and pitfalls of progress

Lan Xue1

  1. Lan Xue is in the School of Public Policy and Management, and the director of the China Institute for Science and Technology Policy, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
    Email: xuelan@tsinghua.edu.cn

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Pushes to globalize science must not threaten local innovations in developing countries, argues Lan Xue.

Developing countries such as China and India have emerged both as significant players in the production of high-tech products, and as important contributors to the production of ideas and global knowledge. China's rapid ascent as a broker rather than simply a consumer of ideas and innovation has made those in the 'developed' world anxious.