Chinese science has gain high speed development in the past several decades, against the background of China's fast pace economical growth. China has now the most researchers in the world, overtakes that of the United States and the European Union. The country ranks 2nd in Nature's top 50 countries with the highest scientific output, only behind the United States, according to the Nature Index published this April.

And the Chinese Academy of Sciences ranks the first for the fourth consecutive year among global science institutions in the Nature Index. The Academy made the largest contribution to high-quality research included in the index, a contribution that has grown by a compound annual growth rate of 6.8 percent since 2012.

However, Nature also sees bumps along the way that China is taking to secure its spot among the leaders in innovation. "Chinese research has generally had low impact, and there have been persistent concerns about quality, which the country is trying to address," said the British Nature Publishing Group in its newly Special report on Jun. 22.

This special issue looks at the state of science in China. As part of a new 5-year plan, Chinese leaders have pledged to boost research funding to 2.5% of the country's gross domestic product by 2020. An infographic charts the rapid rise of Chinese science and examines some of its problems. Profiles of ten of the nation's leading scientists show the breadth and promise of research in fields ranging from neuroscience to neutrinos. One area in which the country is vying to lead the world is DNA sequencing — and an article shows that it wants to dominate precision medicine, too.

An Editorial notes that even with its impressive scientific gains, China still has far to go before it becomes a leader in innovation. Wei Yang, head of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, which is the leading funder of scientists in the country, says in a Comment that China needs to improve the quality, integrity and applicability of its basic research. And policy specialist Douglas Sipp and stem-cell biologist Duanqing Pei argue on that, contrary to common perceptions, China offers lessons for other nations on how to govern ethically sensitive research in the life sciences. In this and other areas of science, the rest of the world will be watching closely as China races forward.

Read the Nature Special: Science in China.