Innovations & technologies

China ranks second worldwide in contributions to high-quality science

The Nature Index compiled by the English science journal Nature, shows China is alreadya high-quality scientific powerhouse. Since the first Nature Index was put together in2012, China's total contributions have risen by 37 percent to become the second greatest inthe world, surpassed only by the United States.

"Clearly China is catching up to the US and is already a high-quality scientific powerhouse.The country's ever increasing R&D budgets, fueled by its burgeoning economy since theearly 1980s, have driven this pattern," said Dr. Nick Campbell, Executive Editor of Nature. "The expansion of China's higher education system and improvements in the quality andquantity of its scientific workforce are key factors in delivering this impressive return oninvestment."