The Economist wisely points out that:
"Merely counting pennies is no way to measure national prowess. Research spending is an input, not an output."
However, they do not propose an alternative metric.
It is also interesting to hear that:
"One reason why spending in Asia has risen is that American firms nearly doubled their R&D investments there in the decade to 2008, to $7.5 billion. GE recently announced a $500m expansion of its R&D facilities in China."