China overtakes the US in scientific research output

According to a report by Japan's science and technology ministry, China is the leader in both scientific research output and high impact studies.

China publishes the most scientific research papers each year, followed by the US and Germany, according to a report published by Japan's National Institute of Science and Technology Policy.

The figures were based on yearly averages over the course of the next two years.

Chinese research made up 27.2% of the world's top 1% most frequently cited papers. A research paper's number of citations is a popular metric. The citation impact is determined by the number of times a study is cited.

The US made up 24.9% of the top 1% most highly cited research studies.

Will China clean up its act when more junk falls to Earth?

According to the report, China published an average of 407,181 scientific papers a year, compared to the US which published an average of 295,434 journal articles.

While US researchers were more prolific in research into clinical medicine, basic life sciences and physics, China was more prolific in research into materials science, chemistry, engineering and mathematics.

On the day that the Chips and Science Act was signed, the report was published.

The Chinese embassy in the US said last month that it was opposed to the bill and that it was a cold war mentality.

According to research published earlier this year, China overtook the US in the top 1% measure, and passed the EU in 2015.

Papers that get more citations than 99% of research are considered to be the very leading edge of science, according to a study. The US tends to rate China's work as less good. It looks like this has changed.

The report found that the US spends more on research and development in universities and corporations than any other country. China has the largest number of researchers in universities and corporations. The United States and China are both growing at a fast rate in the corporate sector.

Shinichi Kuroki of the Japan Science and Technology Agency said that China is one of the top countries for both quantity and quality of scientific papers. It will need to continue to produce internationally recognised research in order to become the true global leader.