According to a recent analysis, China appears to be achieving a golden cross in academic achievements, surpassing the U.S. in multiple fields.
China’s rise in scholarly output is not confined to specific fields. While some attribute this surge to collaborative research with other countries, particularly the U.S., the reality shows that China is spearheading independent research that yields top-tier results.
This shift indicates a move from foreign dependence, with academic accomplishments now centered on domestic research teams.
The Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), led by President Lee Sik, published a report titled “Changes in the Influence of China’s Academic Achievements: Focusing on Hegemony and Efficiency.” The report profoundly analyzes the recent rise in China’s academic achievements and their impact on the global competition for academic dominance.
The report examines whether China’s advancements in elite academic output have been underestimated or overestimated. It analyzes differences across research fields, research leadership, and the impact of Open-Access (OA) papers.
The report focuses on two perspectives: hegemony, or the power and influence driving top-tier academic achievements, and efficiency in terms of sustainability.
The report analyzes China’s scholarly output by research area to determine whether China’s academic rise is limited to specific fields.
From 2020 to 2022, China outperformed the U.S. in top-tier academic achievement shares in seven major research fields. This finding demonstrates China’s broad-based strength across most research domains, solidifying its academic dominance.
China has already surpassed the U.S. in all fields except clinical and life sciences, physics, and arts and humanities, gaining an edge in the academic race. Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to see a decline in its overall market share across various disciplines.
The report examines China’s academic performance from a research leadership perspective to investigate whether its rise is influenced by international collaborations, particularly with the U.S.
In 2012, the U.S. dominated leadership in top-tier academic achievements, but by 2022, China-led research had become the primary driver of top-tier results. The proportion of China-led top-tier academic achievements surged from 13% in 2012 to 46% in 2022, while the U.S. share declined from 54% to 31% over the same period.
This trend suggests that China’s academic achievements are increasingly driven by domestic research teams rather than relying on international partnerships.
The third dimension examined whether China’s rise is due to the increased prevalence of Open Access (OA) journals.
Despite the transformative impact of open-access journals and papers on citation practices, the U.S. still leads China in the proportion of OA papers among top-tier academic achievements. Interestingly, China demonstrates high academic performance while relying less on open-access papers, potentially disadvantaging research evaluations.
Jeon Seung Pyo, senior researcher at KISTI’s Global R&D Analysis Center, stated, “Using the Web of Science database refined and built by KISTI, we analyzed the academic competition between China and the U.S. in top-tier (Top 1% and 10%) research fields. The results show that while differences vary by field, China is already leading in more areas.”
“Regarding research leadership, China is overwhelmingly publishing top-tier (Top 1%) academic achievements with domestic authors alone. On the other hand, China’s academic achievements are relatively less dependent on the effects of OA papers, which may result in disadvantages in evaluations of top-tier achievements,” Pyo added.
Jeon concluded, “China’s advancements in top-tier papers and journals are far from limited phenomena. The superpower status of China’s academic achievements appears to be grounded in reality rather than exaggerated. We must remain vigilant as China’s academic dominance could further intensify.”
Most Commented