Science, one of the world's most influential scientific research journals, opened its Asia news bureau in Beijing on Thursday, in an effort to expand its coverage of China's rapidly developing science and technology.

"Our new bureau attests to the rapidly growing influence of China as a world leader in science," said Richard Stone, Science Magazine's Asia editor. "It will allow us to expand our coverage and hopefully bring our readers more incisive and analytical coverage of developments in China."

The magazine has seen a sharp increase in the number of research papers submitted by Chinese scientists working in China. Previously the majority of Chinese scientists carrying out the research were based overseas.

"I can feel the energy and vitality of China's scientific community, and it seems to me that Chinese scientists are better integrated into the international community compared with scientists in Southeast Asia," said Stone, who worked in Bangkok for two years before moving to Beijing this year.

The magazine has roughly doubled the number of its China news pages in the past two years to help its readers learn more about science in China, he said.

Science has published several features about China this year, covering issues such as the country's plans to establish major scientific research facilities, the huge south-to-north water transfer project and Chinese scientists' efforts to understand and mitigate dust storms.

Some international science journals, including Nature, have based their Asia headquarters in Tokyo. "But I personally feel that, as a journalist, the pace of change in China makes it more interesting to be based here," said Stone.

He hopes the bureau will provide a platform for experts with the magazine to come to China and write about specific aspects of development.

"We will also try to invite more top science writers from within China to freelance for us so that we can get more interesting stories about the country," he added.

The American journal Science, which was established by Thomas Edison in 1880 and has been sponsored by the world's largest non-government science organization, the American Association of Advanced Science (AAAS) since 1900, enjoys a readership of around 1 million for both its print and online editions.

The former chief editor of Science Ellis Rubinstein interviewed China's former president Jiang Zemin in May 2000. The following month, Jiang later wrote an editorial titled "Science in China" for the magazine.

(Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2007)