This is about research and papers published - but Chinese academia is amongst the most corrupt in the world, so without the technologies being utilised (or at least peer reviewed by more trustworthy people) this really doesn't mean all that much.
Honestly, if the Chinese were that far ahead they wouldn't depend on industrial espionage to the extent that they do.
Nature runs an index of how many papers are published in top journals by scientists in each country and institution: https://www.nature.com/nature-index/country-outputs/generate.... Chinese scientists publish more papers in leading international journals than scientists from any other country, including the US (though it's neck and neck at the moment).
Honestly, if the Gringos were that far ahead they wouldn't depend on industrial espionage to the extent that they do.
The ASPI methodology is to use algorithms to count journal citations to determine who is "ahead". They don't directly examine the state of the technology. That's not to say that the conclusion, at least broadly speaking, is necessarily wrong, but journal citations don't directly translate into implementable technology.
It does make for great headlines however, which are free publicity for ASPI and whatever agenda they might be pushing.
I saw a quote the other day I liked: "If the rest of the world wants to emulate the US model, they should do as the United States actually did, not as they say they did".
China Is Rapidly Becoming a Leading Innovator in Advanced Industries
That is very good.
