Just over a decade ago, China's first-class articles were very rare, and many professors didn't publish them. One of them looked tall. Since the 20th century, the quantity and quality of scientific papers in China have increased explosively, and the demand for talents has also been continuously improved. Now, if you want to get an associate professor position in a unit like HKUST, five first-class articles are the starting price. Go out and introduce the research results. If it weren't for this magnitude, I would be embarrassed to say hello.

The research level of American first-class and second-class universities is very high. Any professor is a celebrity, and there are many Nobel Prize winners. Yes, many Nobel Prize winners work in second-rate universities in the United States.

Not very long (ten years? ) In the past, the overall research level of China University was not as good as that of the United States. However, China has made rapid progress, and now the research level of domestic first-class universities is close to that of American second-class universities. At least people's expectations have changed, so it is not surprising that China's scientific research institutes have made world-class achievements. Progress is also manifested in breadth. In the past, only the top universities in China could count on serious research. Now even some second-rate universities publish an article on Nature and Science from time to time.

The rising momentum of China can be seen from the comparison between WFP 2065 438+04 and 20 13. The United States decreased by 0.8%, Germany increased by 1.0%, Japan decreased by 2.3%, Britain increased by 0.9%, and then France, Canada, Spain, Switzerland and South Korea all decreased. What about China? Up 14.9%! What is this concept? If the growth rate of 14.9% is maintained, it will double in five years. China will catch up with the United States in 8.7 years if both China and the United States keep the rate of change of 14.9% and -0.8%.

However, this is not over yet. The WFC data of Nature Publishing Group is updated once a month. What is displayed now is the statistical data from June 20 14 to May 20 15, which is exactly half a year compared with the data from June 20 14. In just half a year, China WFC has changed from 5026 to 63 18, an increase of 25.7%!

At this rate, it will increase by 58% in two and a half years or a year, reaching 7942. Therefore, it is not surprising to see that the WFC of China 20 15 reaches 7000 or even 8000. At the same time, the WFP in the United States changed from 18643 to 17448, with a decrease of 6.4%; Germany changed from 4077 to 3939, a decrease of 3.4%.

In half a year, the ratio of the United States to China dropped from 3.6 to 2.8, and the ratio of China to Germany rose from 1.3 to 1.6. If this amazing speed continues, China will need three years, not nine! We may see it on 20 17! In addition, Russia (338) ranks 19, and China is 18.7 times that of Russia.

There is another aspect to consider. The aforementioned WFC comes from the statistics of 68 first-class journals, but the academic status of these journals is not equal. For example, Qiu He in The Legend of the Condor Heroes is a first-class master, but he is still much better than Qiu. The academic reputation and publishing difficulty of Nature and Science are higher than most other first-class journals, and we can regard them as the representatives of top journals. Of course, this is even less representative, because there are too many landmark papers published outside Nature and Science in history (including many Nobel Prize winners), far more than those published outside 68 first-class journals, but it is still worth making a reference.

Nature Publishing Group has also given these two magazines a WFC quota, which we can use as an indicator for publishing top papers in various countries or research institutions. From June 20 14 to May 20 15, the United States (860) was the highest, followed by Britain (144), Germany (1 16), France (67) and China.

The highest research unit is Harvard University (75), while China Academy of Sciences (17) ranks only at 15.

Of course, there are natural and scientific factors that pay special attention to Britain and the United States, but it also reflects that our position in top papers is lower than that in top papers. In other words, our advantage mainly lies in the sub-top results. As will be mentioned later, this is a common phenomenon, which is related to the history and culture of China and the West.

Patent data of five major intellectual property offices

The output of basic research can be measured by scientific papers. First look at the output of applied technology, measured by patents. The five largest intellectual property offices in the world are the European Patent Office, the Japanese Patent Office, the Korean Patent Office, China National Intellectual Property Administration, China and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. These five offices have handled 80% of the global patent applications and undertaken 95% of the patent cooperation treaties.

Starting from 20 12, the five bureaus jointly publish statistical reports every year. At the beginning of 20 15, the fifth bureau released the main statistical data report of 20 14, and the complete statistical report of the fifth bureau of 20 14 will be completed by the end of 20 15. Patents are divided into invention patents, utility model patents and design patents. Obviously, invention patents have the highest correlation with the level of science and technology. The data listed in the main statistical reports of the Fifth Bureau are all invention patent data.

In 2065438+2004, the Fifth Bureau * * * accepted 2.3 million invention patent applications, of which 928,000 were in China, accounting for 40%! Followed by the United States, 579,000 pieces. Japan, Europe and South Korea have 32.6, 27.4 and 265,438+million pieces respectively. This is the fourth consecutive year that China ranks first in the number of invention patent applications. Compared with 20 13, the growth rate of China is also the highest, reaching 12.5%. The growth rates of the United States, Japan, Europe and South Korea are 1.3%, -0.7%, 3. 1% and 2.8% respectively.

Let's look at the invention patent authorization. In 2065438+2004, there were 955400 invention patents authorized by the Fifth Bureau * *, of which the largest number was the United States, 30 1, accounting for 3 1%. Followed by China, with 233,000 pieces. Japan, South Korea and Europe are 22.7, 13.0 and 65,000 pieces respectively. China has the highest growth rate of 12.3%, while the growth rates of the United States, Japan, South Korea and Europe are 8.2%,-18.0%, 1.9% and -3. 1% respectively.

It should be noted that the applicants of each intellectual property office come from all over the world, not just their own countries. Among the applicants from China National Intellectual Property Administration, China, 86% are from China and 4% are from the United States. Among the applicants from the US Patent and Trademark Office, only 50% are from the United States and 3% are from China. As far as authorization is concerned, among the patentees in China National Intellectual Property Administration, China, 70% are from China and 7% are from the United States. Among the patentees in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, 48% are from the United States and 2% are from China. Obviously, the degree of internationalization of American patents is much higher than that of China, and its ability to absorb foreign intellectual achievements is worth learning.