The 2020 Annual Report for International Citation of Chinese Academic Journals, jointly compiled by CNKI and Tsinghua University Library, released its list on Dec 17 of China's Most Internationally Influential Academic Journals in 2020. Protein & Cell, a monthly peer-reviewed open access journal covering protein and cell biology, was once again included in the list, the ninth consecutive year that it has topped the ranking since 2012.

Protein & Cell ranked 12th among 175 listed natural science and engineering journals, up two places from the previous year. It was also up 35.6 percent in terms of international journal impact, with its level in that factor exceeding 10 for the first time.

The Annual Report for International Citation of Chinese Academic Journals was initiated in 2012. It analyses more than 20,000 kinds of big data cited in international academic journals, and is based on the Journal Clout Index (CI), which takes into consideration both the Impact Factor (IF) and Total Citations (TC) of the journals to reflect their academic influence and comprehensive quality.

It rates the journals ranked in the top five percent of the CI as China's Most Internationally Influential Academic Journals and those ranked in the top five to ten percent as Excellent International Impact Academic Journals of China.

In the past nine years, these two academic journal brands have been widely recognized by the journal sector and scientific research management departments, boosted Chinese academic journals to a global level and helped the country establish an international academic brand and cultural confidence.

Protein & Cell was founded in January 2010 by the Biophysical Society of China, the Higher Education Press and Beijing Institutes of Life Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Springer is responsible for its overseas distribution. The journal is published monthly both online and by print-outs, with full text open access.

Protein & Cell publishes original research articles, reviews, and commentaries concerning the latest developments in multidisciplinary areas in biology and biomedicine, with an emphasis on protein and cell research. Subject areas include microorganisms, plants, animals and humans. In addition, it has set up a variety of columns including research articles, reviews, highlights and recollections.

Recollections, the journal's feature column, is about the achievements of outstanding biologists and the important events in the life sciences in China in the past hundred years, and has become an important window on the history of the discipline.

Protein & Cell has adhered to the non-profit status of academic journals and free open access to full-text, opening up a "green channel" for access to the excellent research results of Chinese scholars (especially young ones), and published innovative scientific research results of Chinese scientists in a timely and just manner. It amplifies the voice of Chinese scholars on the international stage.