China is a fast becoming a global leader in every arena—including in science. In February, the Chinese government announced an ambitious scheme to boost the country's commitment to science. The government plans to increase its annual investment in research and development to 900 billion yuan (US$112 billion) by 2020, a massive increase over the current numbers (see box below). But can China's scientific structure sustain this growth? In the following pages, we look at a few key trends—and people—in China that could make a difference.

Credit: Apoorva Mandavilli
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Source: Science Watch

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World Health Organization