Scientific and technological innovation resources are rapidly concentrating in a few core cities and metropolitan areas, with research clustering becoming a prominent trend. Against this backdrop, two key questions arise: Which cities truly hold research influence, and how balanced is their competitiveness across different disciplines? Nature Index, a data platform under Nature, recently released its 2024 Global Research Cities Ranking, providing insights into these questions.

The ranking tracks research papers published in 82 top-tier natural science journals worldwide, systematically analyzing the positions and trends of global research cities across five major disciplines: physics, chemistry, biology, earth & environmental sciences, and health sciences.

**Overall Trends: Chinese Cities Show Continued Growth in Research Output** The latest data reveals a significant structural shift in global research focus, with Chinese cities occupying more central positions. In the 2024 top 10 global research cities, six are from China—including the top two spots—while the remaining four are from the U.S., all showing declining output shares.

Beijing retains its position as the global leader based on Nature Index’s key metric, the "Adjusted Share" (Share). From 2023 to 2024, Beijing’s Share grew by 9.14%, demonstrating sustained acceleration in research output despite its already massive base. Shanghai follows closely, with a 20% surge in Share, securing its second-place ranking.

In contrast, major U.S. research hubs like the New York and Boston metropolitan areas, ranked third and fourth respectively, saw declines in their Share values. This indicates a relative dilution of U.S. dominance in high-impact journal publications compared to rapidly growing Chinese cities.

Other Chinese cities in the top 10 include Nanjing (5th), Guangzhou (6th), Wuhan (8th), and Hangzhou (10th). The U.S. is represented by the San Francisco Bay Area (7th) and the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area (9th). The data reflects a global reconfiguration of high-quality basic research output, with China holding six of the top 10 spots.

**Disciplinary Rankings: Diverging Strengths Between China and the U.S.** A deeper dive into the rankings across chemistry, physical sciences, earth & environmental sciences, life sciences, and health sciences reveals distinct competitive landscapes.

- **Chemistry:** Chinese cities dominate, claiming all top 10 positions. Beijing leads, followed by Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Hefei, Hangzhou, Tianjin, Xi’an, and Changchun. Tokyo is the highest-ranked non-Chinese city at 12th, while New York dropped from 10th to 14th. - **Physical Sciences:** China holds six of the top 10 spots, with Beijing remaining first. Seoul ranks as the highest non-Chinese city at fifth. - **Earth & Environmental Sciences:** Beijing’s Share is more than double that of second-place Nanjing, highlighting its resource concentration in this field. - **Life Sciences:** U.S. and European cities lead, with New York and Boston taking the top two spots. However, Beijing has risen to third, narrowing the gap with Boston. Guangzhou also climbed to ninth. - **Health Sciences:** U.S. cities dominate, with Boston, New York, Baltimore-Washington, and the San Francisco Bay Area occupying the top four spots. London also performs strongly. Guangzhou entered the top 10, rising from 12th in 2023.

**Long-Term Trends and Collaboration Networks** Longitudinal data shows Chinese cities like Nanjing, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou steadily rising in rankings over the past decade, while New York’s position has gradually declined.

Collaboration metrics highlight the importance of institutional networks. Boston’s Harvard-MIT partnership leads globally with a Bilateral Collaboration Score (BCS) of 470.56. Beijing’s Tsinghua-Peking University collaboration ranks second (378.49), reflecting strong local synergy. Other high-scoring partnerships include the Chinese Academy of Sciences with Peking University and UC Berkeley with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

**Future Implications** The 2024 Nature Index data underscores an asymmetric competition between China and the U.S. in research. Chinese cities excel in chemistry and physical sciences, supporting industrial and technological advancements, while U.S. cities maintain strengths in life and health sciences.

Key challenges ahead include whether Chinese cities can extend their foundational strengths into life sciences and how U.S. hubs will sustain investment in basic sciences amid declining shares. The interplay of cross-disciplinary collaboration—such as leveraging physical/chemical expertise in biomedical research—will shape the next phase of global research competition.