China’s growing share in research rankings: Insights from Nature Index 2024 Research Leaders

Author: Aman Ganpatsingh

In this series of blogs, we’ll explore highlights from our recently published Global Research Pulse report, exploring China’s rise as a dominant force in global research output. In this post, we focus on how Nature Index, alongside our Global Pulse, highlights China’s growing influence on high-impact research. This article features insights from Simon Baker, Chief Editor of The Nature Index. 

China's increasing contribution to high-impact research

China’s rise in global research output is becoming increasingly relevant for editors. Whether you are considering how to widen the pool of potential authors for your journal, or to diversify your editorial board, our recently published Global Research Pulse report offers invaluable insights. The Pulse report explores a variety of indicators that show China’s research is of high quality, and globally valued.

One resource that the report draws on is the Nature Index: a database that tracks author contributions to research articles published in a set of high-quality natural-science and health-science journals. According to the Nature Index 2024 Research Leaders — previously known as Annual Tables — seven out of the leading ten institutions for these contributions are based in China.

“China's contribution to research in indexed journals is consistently increasing,” notes Simon Baker. Our Global Research Pulse report showed that a sizeable proportion of China’s publications are in the top 10% of highly cited articles, closely aligning with the USA and other high research output countries.¹

The most recent Nature Index data shows that China is the leading country globally for research output in the database in chemistry, Earth & environmental sciences and physical sciences, and is 2nd for biological sciences and health sciences. This impressive performance underscores that Chinese researchers are producing work that rivals other research-intensive nations. In fact, our Pulse analysis found that even in disciplines where China produces a lower volume of research, China’s contribution to high impact publishing (based on citations) is on par with other research-intensive nations. In Clinical, preclinical and health, for example, China produces under 14,000 of the top 10% most cited articles, yet as a proportion of their total outputs (below) this aligns closely with the USA and other nations.

Investment drives forward innovation 

Simon Baker attributes China’s achievements to its substantial investment in R&D. As of 2019, China accounted for 22% of global R&D expenditures, second only to the USA. “I think we’re seeing the results of years of concentrated investment in research and development in China,” Simon Baker comments. “There are definitely some interesting developments around trying to build up clusters of research institutions that are close to industry, there's evidence of this happening in some major Chinese cities, which is something we've explored in some of our science city supplements.”

Beyond infrastructure, China's 14th five-year plan for 2021-2025 emphasises its goals for technological innovation, with plans to establish national laboratories for fields including network communications, energy, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence. This commitment to a robust innovation ecosystem is contributing to China’s growing reputation as a leader in research. 

Adopting global research culture 

China’s commitment to quality extends beyond investment. China’s Thousand Talents Plan is an initiative to attract Chinese researchers who have studied or worked abroad back to China. They were tasked with establishing institutes with international cultures, reflecting China's aim to align with Western standards. There is an increasing number of students returning to China having studied internationally, helping to align the standards adopted in China with those of leading research institutions worldwide. “There has been a concerted effort to try and attract researchers back to China, many of whom have studied or worked at leading universities in Europe or North America. This is naturally going to boost the country’s high-quality output,” says Simon.

Policy reforms drive up the quality of research   

Over 30 policies relating to research integrity have been introduced since 2018, including two significant ministerial guidelines issued in 2020 to promote a healthier research and assessment culture. “One area where Chinese research has faced scrutiny at times has been around research integrity,” says Simon. “There was a concern that previous incentives to publish a high volume of papers were a problem. There have therefore been efforts to change these incentives and also to publish watch lists of journals deemed to be of lower quality.”

Engaging with world-leading researchers

For editors, identifying leading researchers is crucial, and here, Nature Index serves as a valuable resource. 

“There are a number of Chinese institutions that are rising very quickly in the Nature Index,” explains Simon Baker. One example of this, which was featured in the Global Pulse report, is the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech). SUSTech in Shenzhen was the fastest-growing young university in the Nature Index from 2019 to 2020. Established just 13 years ago, it has already risen to 41st in the world, thanks to rapid investment, international collaboration, and a heavy focus on attracting the best research talent. “This gives you an idea of how rapidly China's research quality has climbed in such a short space of time,” says Simon Baker.

In the Global Pulse we also feature the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS): CAS comprises a comprehensive research network with 110+ research institutes, a traditional merit-based academic society, and a system of higher education. Home to approximately 56,000 professional researchers, 22,800 are research professors or associate professors. In the 2024 Nature Index, CAS dominates, accounting for more than double the research output of the second-placed institution, Harvard University.  

Other resources mentioned in our Global Pulse include:

• The C9: The equivalent to the USA’s Ivy League, these institutions have consistently generated more than 20% of the nation’s output of journal articles indexed by Thomson Reuters and produced 30% of the total citations from published research 
• Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researchers: Clarivate’s report lists researchers who have demonstrated significant and broad influence in their fields. In the 2023 report, Mainland China had the second highest number of Highly Cited Researchers after the USA and has more than doubled its share of Highly Cited Researchers since 2018. 

Conclusion

As editors navigate a rapidly evolving research landscape, the Nature Index and our Global Pulse report offer editors essential tools for making informed decisions on research from China. “There's no doubt that Chinese research quality has improved, the data show that,” says Simon Baker. The Global Research Pulse report is the first in a new series exploring shifts across the publishing landscape. We provide many other insights and tools to help editors make informed decisions in a rapidly changing, diverse research landscape. Find out more in our Global Research Pulse report in China.