TAIPEI — China’s manual docking of the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft may not be a giant leap for mankind. But the milestone, which occurred last weekend, is one solid step further in China’s race to catch the US space and technology program, not to mention its quest to build a space station. China, a country run by technocrats, is busy pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into space, science and tech R&D. Meanwhile, spending in those areas in the US appears to have plateaued. The US isn't being outspent yet. But other countries, like China, are catching up.