China's rise in the chemical space and the decline of US influence

At the turn of the 21st century, China has achieved a spectacular surge in the scientific arena. However, little is known about its role in the material core of chemistry, encoded in the chemical space, which spans the discovery of chemicals. Here we show, by analysing the chemical space between 1996 and 2022, that its expansion has been dominated by China ever since 2013. Chinese dominance occurs at different levels, from organic to rare-earth chemistry, but is less dramatic in organometallic chemistry. We also found that Chinese dominance is mainly the product of the country’s own efforts, rather than the result of international collaboration. China’s surge mainly comes at the expense of the contribution of the US. Interestingly, the US share of the chemical space is more dependent on international collaboration, which mainly occurs with China. We also observe the emergent role of India. We believe these results provide a contemporary account of the geopolitics of the chemical space, which may constitute the basis for future national and international science policies, as well as research and development agendas.