Nation ranks 2nd in global research

China leads the world in 32 out of 138 research topics in groundbreaking natural and social science fields, second only to the United States, according to the Research Fronts 2018 report published on Wednesday.

The results were based on analysis of research fronts - a cluster of highly cited papers over a five-year period - which can help determine areas where key work is being done and where the scientific community is most active. This allows researchers and officials to identify scientific trends and areas of possible collaboration.

Last year, China led in 25 topics in the report, which was compiled by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Science and Development and Clarivate Analytics, a global analytics firm. The report has been published annually since 2014.