Doesn't the answer to "Why isn't China (yet) producing a lot of top-tier research?" have something to do with the large language barrier? I did hear that English is taught as a second language in Chinese education, however couldn't it be that most of these papers are being published in Chinese and are consumed nationally?
This could be made worse by non-Chinese nationals not wanting to learn Mandarin et al. as much as other foreign languages.
Where does all that money I spend--personally, in taxes, everything--actually go? I'd love to see the next two or three things each dollar bought.
Long term viability of meaningful work in a technological civilization.