Paths to the future for science and technology in China, India and the United States

China and India are frequently referred to as emerging superpowers. First, we present evidence that by virtue of their economic strength, their ability to absorb and adapt to repeated foreign intrusions, and their cultural reach, both countries should be more properly regarded as re-emerging superpowers. They qualified for that status even when the Roman Empire was at its peak, and continued to qualify until well into the seventeenth century. It was only with increasing intrusions by Europeans and, to a lesser extent Americans, from that time until well into the twentieth century, that their status began to be undermined. A series of short vignettes describing political, economic, and scientific milestones for China, India, and the United States illustrates the domestic evolution of the three countries since the middle of the twentieth century and the relationships among them.Then we present highlights in the development of science and higher education: in China and India, from their first contacts with modern science to the present; and in the United States, from the Constitutional Convention of 1787 to the present. These highlights are followed by a short comparison of research and development expenditures in 1991 (the first year in which relatively complete, reliable data are available for China and India), and a brief explanation of their government science policy structures. We offer two “snapshots”—the first from 1995, the second from 2004—that provide detailed data on R&D investments and human resources in the three countries for those years.We conclude by speculating on the future status of China, India, and the United States during the next half century. Will they continue to be superpowers? In what ways are their science policies likely to enable their superpower status? Will their status as superpowers provide the means to further strengthen their science and technology systems and lead to economic and military outputs of wide-ranging global significance?