Wuhan, capital city of Central China's Hubei province, ranked 13th globally for science in the Nature Index global science city 2020 rankings, which were released during the 2020 Zhongguancun Forum held on Sept 19.
Four other Chinese cities -- Beijing, Nanjing, Guangzhou and Hefei -- ranked among the top 20 global science cities, with Beijing ranking first.
David Swinbanks, founder of the Nature Index, said a concentration of talent, funding, research institutions and other resources is crucial for the top global science cities to maintain their leading positions.
The Nature Index, first released in 2014, has grown into an internationally-recognized important indicator that can measure the high-quality research output and cooperation of institutions, countries and regions in the field of natural sciences, and has significant influence on a global scale.
The ranking was based on weighted statistics of articles published in 82 top natural science journals in the world, such as Nature, Science, and Cell, from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020.
Wuhan is a city of science and education, with 71 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, ranking top among cities in China.
After the outbreak of the COVID-19 at the beginning of this year, Wuhan urgently launched emergency scientific research and new technology applications, and organized research and development to address problems in epidemic prevention and control.
In addition, Wuhan is set to develop a national new generation artificial intelligence innovation development pilot zone, after gaining the approval of the Ministry of Science and Technology on Sept 4.
