Chinese scientists and researchers are playing an increasingly influential role in advancing global science, making growing contributions in terms of research volume, originality, quality and international impact, and helping address some of the world's most pressing challenges, a senior executive with a prominent scientific publishing group said.

Richard Remington, managing director of Cell Press and senior vice-president of Elsevier, made the remarks during an exclusive interview with China Daily recently on the sidelines of the 2026 Pujiang Innovation Forum in Shanghai.

With more than 60 scientific journals spanning the life, physical, medical, sustainability and applied sciences, Cell Press is globally renowned for publishing high-impact research that advances fundamental discoveries and technological breakthroughs.

Remington said China remains one of the world's most dynamic and innovative research communities, with deeper engagement in international scientific collaboration and increasing contributions from Chinese researchers in fields including life sciences, physical sciences, materials science and artificial intelligence.

He highlighted several leading studies published in Cell Press journals by Chinese researchers.

In brain mapping, Remington pointed to a landmark brain-mapping consortium led by pioneers including Poo Mu-Ming, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. A collection of 10 studies from the consortium was published in July in Cell and its sister journals Neuron and Developmental Cell.

"By integrating advances in transcriptomics and connectomics, the consortium is helping reveal the brain's architecture at an unprecedented scale," Remington said.

In climate and genomics, Remington highlighted the PLANeT initiative, which uses plant genomics to address food security and sustainability. Published in Cell in April, the global initiative was launched by an international group of leading scientists, including several distinguished Chinese academics.

"It aims to unlock the genomic diversity of land plants and apply this knowledge to challenges such as food security, climate resilience and sustainable development," he said.

With Chinese researchers making advances across a wide range of fields, Remington described the country's scientific research community as "ambitious, connected and impactful".

He said China's significant investment in research would strengthen Chinese researchers' ability to sustain their work and achieve major scientific outcomes.

International collaboration is also critical, he said, adding that China's highly connected scientific community is helping lead the way on a number of scientific fronts. Through collaboration and advances across disciplines, Chinese researchers have opportunities to make a greater impact on key global challenges.

"Science continues to know no boundaries," Remington said. "Publishing is the bridge between scientific discovery and the development of solutions. Ultimately, we are looking for discoveries to be replicable, built upon and ultimately adopted."

He said leading scientific journals identify important research, rigorously test it for integrity and help disseminate it to audiences around the world, building connections and partnerships, inspiring other researchers and benefiting more people.

As interdisciplinary research continues to evolve rapidly, breakthroughs on many of the world's most pressing scientific questions increasingly require collaboration across disciplines, Remington said.

"For example, human health may now involve biology, computational engineering and data science, among other fields, to reach an answer," he said. "It's a very big challenge."

Successful interdisciplinary collaboration requires scientists to keep an open mind and is driven by good infrastructure, curiosity, shared platforms and the ability to draw on different types of scientific expertise and bring them together to develop solutions, he said.

Remington also emphasized the value of open science, saying it makes more of the research process visible rather than focusing solely on final conclusions. Common standards, openness in research methods and data, and genuine collaboration across borders are "massively critical", he said.

"Our important role is to apply the same standards through peer review, measurement, integrity checks, promoting research globally and encouraging cooperation," Remington said. "I believe it will continue to be important for everyone across the globe to learn from each other."

Looking ahead, Remington warned that the natural human inclination to rely on AI tools could "kill curiosity".

He advised researchers to preserve their scientific curiosity while embracing AI, saying that challenging answers and assessing value, benefits and societal impact still require a great deal of human judgment.