Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Chinese science has been moving at breakneck speed for the past few decades, fuelled by vast infusions of cash and a rapidly growing technical workforce. It now boasts more researchers than the United States, outspends the European Union in research and development and is on track to best all other nations in its yearly production of scientific papers. But there have been bumps along the way. Chinese research has generally had low impact and there have been persistent concerns about quality, which the country is trying to address.
This special issue looks at the state of science in China today and the challenges it faces in the future.
To boost its research quality and innovation, China must strengthen its scientific foundations and let researchers — not policymakers — set the agenda for innovation and discovery.