International comparative research on the relevance of science and technology and the innovation ability of the rare earth industry-from the perspective of technology-industry mapping based on patent information

Abstract

Rare earth is a type of strategic resource that is valued by different countries. It is involved in the recent Sino-US trade friction. China has been attaching great importance to the technical innovation of the rare earth industry, improving China's influence on the world's rare earth industry, but with little effect. For instance, China has succeeded in catching up with developed countries in the middle and upper reaches of the industry featuring mining and smelting. However, the West has maintained its advantages and competitiveness in the downstream, which cannot be easily surpassed by China. Accordingly, investigating the development characteristics of rare earth industries in different countries can lay a vital basis for the selection of development paths. 42,932 patent applications about rare earths are collected. In addition, we divide the above patents into 10 major technology fields according to the subject clustering, and the above patents can also be classified into different industry fields according to the patent technology codes. Then, this paper introduces the scientific relevance degree (TSCI) and technological relevance degree (TTCI) to discuss the innovative characteristics of different rare earth industries, and uses the innovation capability index (TSS) to characterize the actual innovation efficiency of different countries. We find that the United States is promoting science and technology in the entire rare earth industry, Japan is primarily driven by technology, while China is characterized by scientific promotion in the middle and upper reaches of the industry. This paper gives industry development recommendations based on the situations of different countries.