LONDON - Research papers published by China-based authors in Nature branded journals in 2012 increased by 35 percent on the 2011 figure, the Nature Publishing Index 2012 (NPI) China showed on Wednesday.

The report, published as a supplement to Nature, showed that authors from institutions in China contributed 8.5 percent, or 303 papers, of all research papers published in Nature branded journals in 2012, up from 7.0 percent in 2011 and 5.3 percent in 2010. In 2000, just six articles published in Nature branded journals had co-authors from institutions in China.

The top two institutions remain stable from 2011 to 2012: the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) leads, followed by the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) complete the top five.

The NPI also provides indicators that China, traditionally strong in physical sciences, is making gains in high quality life sciences research.

The Nature Publishing Index 2012 China supplement also presents a ranking by city. Beijing continues to dominate, followed by Shanghai, Hefei, Hong Kong and Wuhan.