An analyst suggests that the United States' approach to funding scientific research, particularly its focus on practical applications, may inadvertently benefit China's global scientific endeavors. The article draws parallels to historical US exploration initiatives.

After the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803, which almost doubled the size of the United States’ territory, US president Thomas Jefferson commissioned the legendary Lewis and Clark expedition, which surveyed new routes from the Missouri river to the Pacific coast. It also carried out work in agriculture, ethnography (with indigenous peoples) and geography. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, that was the kind of science the US government was willing to pay for – practical,...