BEIJING, June 23 (Xinhua) -- China took a major step toward opening its scientific data to the world on Tuesday with the official launch of Data Express, the country's first English-language academic journal dedicated to data papers.
The journal was announced at a conference in Beijing hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), which oversees the journal.
The move aims to establish a "China hub" for global scientific data exchange and tackle the growing challenge of making high-value research data findable, shareable, and reusable, said the CAS.
Yu Guirui, a CAS academician, has been named editor-in-chief of the new publication. Describing it as a response to a "historic shift" in how research is conducted, Yu noted that data is now a key pillar of artificial intelligence-driven discovery, and that Data Express will help fill a gap in China's high-end scientific publishing landscape.
The journal is just one part of a much larger vision. In addition to the flagship Data Express, the CAS plans to roll out specialized data journals within one year in fields such as physics, ecology, biomedicine, and engineering. Together, these publications will form a "Data Express" journal cluster, filling gaps in areas where China currently lacks dedicated data publication outlets.
According to the CAS, the cluster marks a shift in China's approach from individual exploration to leading international collaboration in scientific data sharing. ■
