Report outlines path to stronger fundamental research in China

BEIJING, Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from China Daily.

To grasp the evolution of fundamental research, one needs sustained, global observation backed by credible data and rigorous methodologies to track how diverse research systems develop and identify their respective contributions.

Zhan Hao, vice-president of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), made the remarks at the launch of the China Fundamental Research Report 2026. Primarily organized by Wuhan University, the event took place on Tuesday at the China National Convention Center in Beijing.

The report was compiled by researchers from leading universities and research institutes. A 13-member international review committee guided its overall orientation throughout the process, while 39 senior Chinese experts conducted chapter-by-chapter reviews.

Shifting its observation focus from research output volume to knowledge utilization, capacity building and resource sharing, the report provides systematic references for sci-tech policy-making, research funding and academic inquiry. It also lays the foundation for an openly accessible, continuously updated monitoring system for fundamental research.

Rather than constructing composite rankings, the report seeks to redefine international comparison, moving beyond league tables toward deeper understanding, and beyond raw output toward real contributions.

Zhang Pingwen, president of Wuhan University, called on global research institutions, funding agencies, international organizations and young scholars to help validate the report's findings, refine its indicators and methodologies, and expand cross-border research cooperation.

The report notes China's fundamental research expenditure nearly doubled from $16.5 billion in 2018 to $31.9 billion in 2023. Its research workforce across all research and development activities reached 3 million full-time equivalents in 2023.

It also documents the expanded scope of NSFC funding covering researchers' early representative publications across successive academic career cohorts.

China's role as a producer of scientific knowledge has strengthened markedly, with high-impact outputs showing distinct disciplinary patterns. Within the scope of fundamental research covered by the report, China's share of global publications rose from 0.9 percent in 1985 to 32.6 percent in 2024.

The report concludes that a core priority for China's fundamental research is to translate accumulated scale into deeper, more resilient systemic capacity, better identifying key scientific questions, backing long-term, high-risk exploration and sustaining original discoveries.