A SUPPLEMENT TO NATURE PUBLISHING INDEX 202 CHINA Based on the Nature Publishing Index nature.asia/publishing-index nature.asia/publishing-index-china 30 May 2013 © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved Ghent , Belgium Sacramento, USA Shenzhen, China June 25 - 28 September 12 -13 October 30 - November 1 The 2nd The 2nd International Conference International Conference th on Genomics in on Genomics in the The 8 International Conference Europe Americas on Genomics Co-organizer : VIB Co-organizer : UC DAVIS Co-organizer : GigaScience Join Us for 2013 International Conference on Genomics Over the past seven years, the International Conference on Genomics (ICG) has been one of the top grade gathering of global thought leaders in genomics featuring latest advancements in genomic-related fields. This year, BGI continues to hold series ICG conferences, including ICG-8, ICG Americas-II, and ICG Eu- rope-II. These gatherings will be an excellent opportunity to exchange your research experience and latest discoveries, as well as the new insights into future development of life science. Scan this QR code to visit www.icg-2013.org for more information! Organizer : [email protected] +86-755-25273340 PUBLISHING INDEX 2012 CHINA A SUPPLEMENT TO NATURE inners and losers. It is in these terms that PUBLISHING INDEX 202 CONTENTS CHINA regular rankings like the Nature Publishing Index (NPI) are often perceived, with the rise Wof one institution, city or country inevitably leading to 2 A LARGER SLICE OF THE PIE the slide of another. A broad look at another year of Yet this might be too simplistic a picture. Given the vast scientific gains for China number of researchers in China, even a small uniform Based on the Nature Publishing Index nature.asia/publishing-index 8 TOP CHINESE INSTITUTIONS IN 2012 nature.asia/publishing-index-china increase in the quality of their research output will have a CAS continues its unchallenged Cover art: Takeshi Murakami huge effect on global progress in science and technology. So with the rest of the science world looking on, where NPI dominance, while the depth are the biggest strides being made in this burgeoning of quality improves with many Editorial newcomers Michelle Grayson, powerhouse? The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Herb Brody, continues to be the dominant force (page 10), with the 16 TOP CHINESE CITIES IN 2012 Rebecca Dargie, University of Science and Technology of China, Tsinghua Peng Tian, Talent plus results equals funding: Tony Scully University (page 11), Peking University and Shanghai Jiao how authorities are luring the best Tong University (page 12) rounding out China’s top 5. academics to raise the scientific Editorial support These institutions have dominated NPI China for many status of their cities Felix Cheung, years (page 8). Nobuko Miyairi, 24 A GUIDE TO THE NPI Takeshi Murakami In terms of the cities, Beijing and Shanghai still account for the lion’s share of the country’s high-quality research Get the best out of the NPI with Art & design our navigation guide Alisdair Macdonald, output (page 16). Meanwhile other major Chinese Susie Lanni, Takeshi cities jostle for positions in the top 10, with Shenzhen, 26 CHINA TOP 100 Murakami Guangzhou and Tianjin (pages 19 & 20) notching up Who reached the highest echelons Web & data significant achievements this year. of Chinese science in 2012? Bob Edenbach, The general landscape of Chinese research is healthy. Olivier Lechevalier, But there is considerable scope for improvement. 28 TOP INSTITUTIONS BY JOURNAL Naomi Nakahara, Which institutions contributed most Yuxin Wang Academics have expressed a need to continue the expansion of funding for basic science and to improve the to Nature’s specialist journals? Production processes for prioritizing to which projects these funds are Susan Gray 38 ASIA-PACIFIC TOP 200 allocated. There have also been calls for the establishment How China compares with countries Marketing of a coordinated approach to training and retaining of across the region Kate Clubbs, good researchers as well as more clarity in how the best Sachiyo Ikeda scientists are recognized (page 2). 42 GLOBAL TOP 100 Sales In addition, the level of collaboration with international How does China, with its large Gloria To, researchers illustrates the direct contribution China is population and growing economy, Stella Yan, stack up against the world’s best? Kate Yoneyama already making to improve its own output alongside that of other nations. Project Manager Christian Manco So in many ways, China’s rise means that this is one game that is not zero-sum: in science, everyone wins. Publishing Nick Campbell, Richard Hughes, Nick Campbell David Swinbanks Head of Nature Publishing Group, Greater China NATURE PUBLISHING INDEX 2012 CHINA Macmillan Science Communication To advertise in Nature Publishing Index China please contact The Nature Publishing Index 2012 China, a supplement to Nature, was produced Nature Editorial Offices [email protected] by Macmillan Science Communication, a division of Macmillan Publishers Ltd, The Macmillan Building CUSTOMER SERVICES for NPG. This publication is an excerpt of weekly updated Nature Publishing 4 Crinan Street, [email protected] Index data researched and produced by NPG Nature Asia-Pacific and accessible London N1 9XW, UK Copyright © 2013 Nature Publishing Group. online at nature.asia/publishing-index. Tel: +44 (0)20 7833 4000 Fax: +44 (0)20 7843 4596/7 All rights reserved. NATURE PUBLISHING INDEX 2012 | CHINA | 1 © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved NPI CHINA A larger slice of the pie With a third more papers than last year and a host of new institutions, China’s performance in the 2012 Nature Publishing Index is its strongest to date. Our numbers show that the quality of research has improved, but more support for basic science is encouraged. recurrent criticism of Chinese science in recent years concerns to prevent corruption and misuse of state funds, but our interviewees the quality of research. While there might still be room for suggest that many good scientists are lost to better-paying jobs elsewhere. improvement, the country’s reputation is gaining strength. The Money is not the only prerequisite for a healthy research sector. Agrowth in China’s contribution to the Nature Publishing Index since 2011 There is also the issue of scientific culture. In 2010, Shi Yigong, dean of is a clear indication of the increase in top-notch scientific output. Tsinghua University’s School of Life Sciences, and his opposite number This growth is reflected both in the number of institutions represented at Peking University, Rao Yi, published an editorial in Science criticizing and in the number of papers in Nature journals they produced. There are the “unhealthy” research systems of China. They said science was 43% more Chinese institutions in the NPI than there were in 2012; 217 controlled by bureaucrats and elite scientists, and that in order to obtain institutions contributed to 303 papers — a 35% increase. grant funding, good research was “not as important as schmoozing with Over the past five years, the NPI has grown by more than 40%. Within powerful bureaucrats and their favorite experts”. Others have criticized that, the share attributable to researchers from the Asia-Pacific region the scientific elitism in China: in the run-up to the last elections for the has increased from 19% to more than 28%. But China’s growth rate has Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2011, Gu Haibin, an economist at the outpaced it all; the country accounts for 30% of all Asia-Pacific articles Renmin University of China in Beijing, is quoted in a Nature article as (see China’s growth in the NPI). In 2008, articles featuring China-based saying that current academician system reflects ‘guan ben wei’ — an authors accounted for 3.6% of the whole NPI; in 2012 it was 8.5%. The entrenched cultural acceptance that political power and status override Chinese share of corrected count (CC) any other achievement. In those 2011 has similarly risen, from 1.5% in 2008 to elections, Shi and Rao were nominated 4.2% last year. When articles published to become new academicians of CAS in the flagship journal Nature alone are HEALTHCARE POLICIES but failed to get elected. considered, the Chinese share of the CC has risen from 1.5% to 2.5%. ALLOCATING BILLIONS OF SUBJECT STRENGTHS China has a long history of strength in GOVERNMENT SUPPORT DOLLARS TO DRUG DEVELOPMENT engineering and is traditionally strong- These gains can largely be attributed est in the physical sciences. Nevertheless, to increased funding. The Chinese ARE ENCOURAGING CHINA’S the NPI 2012 shows its growing prowess government plans to increase research in life sciences. China was the top Asia- and development (R&D) spending from LIFE SCIENCES INSTITUTIONS Pacific nation in five Nature journals in its 2012 level of 1.75% of GDP to at least 2012: Nature Biotechnology, Nature Cell 2.5% by 2020. The proportion is small TO BECOME BIGGER Biology, Nature Genetics, Nature Struc- compared with other developed nations tural & Molecular Biology and Nature (the United States, for example, spends GLOBAL PLAYERS Methods. Its strongest showing was in 2.9% of GDP on R&D), but the country’s Nature Genetics, where China’s share of sheer size and rapid economic growth the total CC for the journal was 17%. (just less than 10% per annum as of 2011) means China is a scientific force Among the institutions, the CAS leads all four NPI subject categories to be reckoned with. The last decade has seen spending on R&D increase (see ‘Subject strengths’). In the life sciences — the biggest component — by around 20% per year, putting the country in second place — behind genetics-focused BGI comes in second.