Long-term vision key to China's scientific success, says industry expert

With its expanding research output and active participation in international collaboration, China's scientific community is expected to play an increasingly vital role in shaping global innovation, said a renowned industry expert.

"China's progress across science as a whole, particularly in the physical sciences, has been truly impressive. It has grown into one of the leading contributors to global science," said Matteo Cavalleri, global head of journal strategy at AIP Publishing (AIPP), the publishing arm of the American Institute of Physics.

As a participant in this year's ChinaNANO conference, which came to a close in Beijing on Monday, Cavalleri said he found China's strong focus on addressing real-world challenges for the benefit of humanity to be especially important, and one area that reflects this drive is nanotechnology which is being used for detection, diagnostics and overall improvements in people's health and quality of life.

According to a white paper released during ChinaNANO 2025, of the more than 1.078 million nanotechnology patents granted worldwide, China accounted for 464,000, representing 43 percent of the total — the largest share of any country.

Cavalleri said the number reflects not only the scale and quality of Chinese research, but also the fact that Chinese scientists focus on translating basic research into practical applications.

"For research translation, you ultimately need something that works, plus patience and sustained investment. This is something China has been doing well, having that long-term vision and future-oriented focus, rather than just looking for immediate results," he said.

The combination of strong investment, infrastructure, research vitality, problem-driven focus and global collaboration makes China an "especially dynamic and central force" in today's scientific landscape, the executive added.

According to Cavalleri, for inherently interdisciplinary fields like nanotechnology, having editors from different disciplines and regions could help foster collaboration which is key for research and applications, and scientific journals should actively promote this kind of diversity.

In this regard, AIPP has appointed two Chinese editors-in-chief in recent years, reflecting not geography but scientific excellence.

"Having Chinese editors-in-chief is quite natural, considering how China has established itself as a center of excellence in physics," Cavalleri said, adding that a large proportion of submitted articles now come from Chinese researchers, making it natural for editorial teams to mirror this diversity.

"Editors select reviewers based on trust in their expertise, so having editors who know the Chinese research community helps increase the number of qualified reviewers, which naturally leads to greater diversity in the overall editorial system," he said.

According to AIPP data, although still falling short of matching the more than 50 percent share of submissions from China, Chinese participation in peer review has grown significantly. In 2020, the figure was only 9 percent, while in 2024 the number had reached 22 percent, up 5 percentage points from the year earlier.

Cavalleri believes expanding editorial teams in China will naturally bring more reviewers into the system and programs such as AIPP's Reviewers Academy are also helping to train a new generation of reviewers.

Looking ahead, the publisher said it will continue to bridge Chinese researchers with the international research community through enhanced local operations.

It has already sealed several partnerships with Chinese universities and institutions, and the collaborations go beyond journal subscriptions to also include publishing partnerships, helping Chinese researchers increase global impact.

"What strikes me most when I come here is the willingness of Chinese researchers to open up their work, drive collaboration and lead initiatives that benefit not only China but the global community," Cavalleri said. "My recommendation would be to continue this approach. Science is borderless, and anyone who disagrees with that is mistaken."

lijiaying@chinadaily.com.cn