Beijing tops the list of cities for research output while Shanghai ranks the fifth, according to Nature Index 2017 Science Cities supplement released on Thursday, reports Xinhua.
The Nature Index is a database of author affiliation information collated from research articles published in an independently selected group of 68 science journals.
Nature Index 2017 Science Cities supplement has tracked counts of research output of 500 cities worldwide in the last year.
The supplement explores the top ten cities with highest research output in the method of weighted fractional count (WFC).
The top three cities are Beijing, Paris and New York, with the respective WFC of 1693, 1231 and 846, followed by Cambridge (U.S.), Shanghai, Tokyo, London, Boston, San Diego, Cambridge (UK), according to the index.
These top 10 metropolises account for 17% of the total research output, which is 17 times their global population weight, figures from the index show.
With more of the global population live in urban areas, cities will become even more distinct in the domain of knowledge and innovation, according to the research.
The report also points out that Beijing is home to Peking University and Tsinghua University, the top two research institutions in China, which help the city produce scientific research output.
According to the Beijing Urban Master Plan (2016-35) published in September, the city has strategic positioning of building it into a center for scientific innovation.
Besides, Guangzhou and Shenzhen have relatively high research output counts of 228 and 103.
"The latest data show Chinese cities are excellent in research output among cities globally, which is new evidence for the scientific advancement of China," said Arnout Jacobsan, president of Greater China for Springer Nature.
"As China is always committed to promoting the innovative development of science and technology, its scientific strength will advance further," Jacobsan added.
