National Science Foundation Science & Engineering Indicators document persistent gaps in annual US STEM bachelor's and advanced degrees relative to population-adjusted Chinese figures reported by the Ministry of Education, with the latter exceeding 3 million in recent cycles concentrated in engineering and computer science. Bureau of Labor Statistics productivity series show US nonfarm business sector output per hour rising modestly while Chinese manufacturing and services data from the National Bureau of Statistics reflect steeper gains in AI-adjacent sectors. The MarketWatch framing emphasizes Big Tech hiring shortfalls yet understates longitudinal enrollment trends tracked in OECD Education at a Glance and primary Chinese statistical yearbooks that predate recent export controls. Multiple perspectives emerge from primary enrollment tables: US emphasis on program quality and retention rates versus Chinese scale advantages in volume; neither source set establishes direct causation to AI deployment outcomes. Connections to demographic cohort sizes and domestic R&D expenditure ratios appear in the same NSF and Ministry releases but receive limited attention in coverage focused on semiconductor restrictions.