China Expands Academic Publishing Push to Build Top-Tier Scientific Journals

China is accelerating efforts to establish internationally competitive scientific and technological journals to retain premier research and strengthen its voice in academic evaluation. Under the multi-agency 'Excellence Action Plan for China STEM Journals', 65 domestic publications now rank in the top 5% of their respective global disciplines, with 25 taking the top spot. The recent debut of the life sciences journal Vita highlights a broader institutional push to cultivate reputable domestic platforms alongside established titles like Engineering.

Academic journals serve as the core infrastructure for scientific evaluation and data sovereignty. Developing world-class, domestically anchored journals allows China to preserve high-impact original research locally while expanding its influence in setting global scientific standards and governance norms.

China is stepping up efforts to build world-class scientific and technological journals, aiming to bolster its influence in global academic governance and retain high-impact research within domestic publishing channels, according to People's Daily. The initiative was highlighted during the recent formal debut of the Vita journal series, held alongside the first-anniversary conference of the Life Science Open Alliance. Supported by an alliance of Chinese universities and research institutions, the flagship journal has received more than 400 submissions and published 60 papers, featuring original breakthroughs from domestic research teams. The journal relies on full-time professional scientific editors to steadily establish its international academic standing. Jin Li, chair of the alliance and president of Fudan University, emphasized that scientific journals must prioritize major original achievements and return to academic fundamentals rather than letting commercial publishing constraints hinder significant discoveries. Li Dangsheng, chief scientific officer of the Shanghai Shangsi Institute for Natural Sciences and co-editor-in-chief of Vita, noted that winning researchers' trust requires strict impartiality and dedicated editorial service. The push for new journals builds upon progress made by established publications under targeted national policies. Supported by the Excellence Action Plan for China STEM Journals—jointly launched by the China Association for Science and Technology and six other government bodies—65 Chinese journals now rank in the top 5% globally in their disciplines, while 25 hold the number one position in academic impact within their fields. Among individual achievements, the flagship journal Engineering has reached an impact factor of 11.6, placing it third worldwide among general engineering journals. Meanwhile, the Chinese Medical Association's journal cluster now encompasses over 300 titles and more than 1.5 million published documents, with annual visits to its digital publishing platform exceeding 100 million in 2025. Industry observers note that cultivating competitive domestic journals serves a dual purpose: setting rigorous research standards for domestic scientists and establishing autonomous platforms for scientific data and evaluation.