International use of Chinese social sciences platform rises by 34%

The overseas use of the National Center for Philosophy and Social Sciences Documentation (NCPSSD) grew significantly in 2024, with a 34.2-percent increase in annual visits compared to the previous year, according to an academic symposium in Beijing on Friday.

The symposium on high-quality development of academic journals, hosted by the Library of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the NCPSSD, unveiled two key reports: the 2024 Report on the Most Popular Journals and the 2024 User Usage Analysis Report. The two reports together highlight the platform's growing global influence and its role in promoting Chinese academic journals abroad.

Among the most popular journals by international users were Qiushi, an official publication of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Religious Studies, Research in Education Development, Archaeology, and Jiangsu Higher Education.

Since its first release in 2018, the journal popularity report has aimed to strengthen the impact and visibility of Chinese academic publications and contribute to building an independent knowledge system in the humanities and social sciences.

The user analysis report, published for the first time this year, offers detailed statistics on usage across domestic institutions, individual users, overseas institutions, and new media platforms. It also examines changes in user behavior and highlights popular content pages, providing valuable insights for future platform development.

The NCPSSD, led by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, has become the world's largest open-access platform for Chinese-language philosophy and social sciences research. It now hosts over 27 million data records, serves more than 90,000 domestic institutions and 1,300 overseas institutions, and has over eight million registered users in 197 countries and regions, with cumulative visits exceeding 1.6 billion.

The two-day conference also focuses on how artificial intelligence can empower the high-quality development of academic journals. On Saturday, over 80 representatives from Chinese academic journal editorial boards will join discussions on AI applications in academic publishing, including its opportunities and challenges. The event will issue a proposal on the responsible application of AI in academic journals.