Steady Rise in Influence: China's Sci-Tech Journals Reach 5,325 in Total

The "Blue Book of Chinese Sci-Tech Journal Development (2025)" recently released by the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) shows that the total number of China's sci-tech journals has continued to increase, rising from 5,211 in 2023 to 5,325 in 2024, with their overall influence growing steadily.

According to the Blue Book, citation metrics indicate a continuous rise in the total citation frequency and impact factors of Chinese sci-tech journals. From 2015 to 2024, these journals published over 12 million research papers, which accumulated more than 71 million citations, resulting in an average of nearly 6 citations per paper.

Simultaneously, the Blue Book also points out that the capacity building for academic publishing in China's sci-tech journals faces multiple challenges. These include a gap in interdisciplinary layout compared to developed countries, insufficient support for decision-making, the need to enhance集约化 (centralized/intensive) service levels, and the still noticeable outflow of high-quality manuscript submissions.

In response, the Blue Book recommends focusing on the development of journals in disciplines with Chinese characteristics and fostering exemplary interdisciplinary journals. It suggests planning topics aligned with national strategic needs, expanding dissemination channels, cultivating a strategic team of authors, and strengthening journals' ability to support decision-making. It also advocates for the deep integration of technologies like artificial intelligence into the entire publishing process to build a transparent, efficient, and trustworthy publishing service platform. Furthermore, it calls for promoting the establishment and improvement of an independent evaluation system to guide the initial publication of outstanding research成果 in domestic journals.

The Blue Book of Chinese Sci-Tech Journal Development is compiled annually by the CAST Service Center for Societies. It aims to objectively present the development status of China's sci-tech journals, conduct in-depth analysis and assessment of key and challenging issues in their development, and explore potential solutions.