CHINA cheered last week when it became only the third country to launch a person into orbit. By any measure it was a remarkable feat and a signal to all that China has the technological ambition to outdo most nations on Earth.
Some have sought to belittle China’s effort by suggesting that its Shenzhou capsule is a mere copy of Russia’s Soyuz, but this is not so (see “Confident China joins space elite”). Indeed, in some areas of science China is determined to take a lead. It was the first country to commercialise a genetically engineered crop, and has…
