WUHAN -- China now stands behind only the United States in the amount of science and technology journals it publishes annually, said an official of the Wuhan Association for Science and Technology on Wednesday in Central China's Hubei province.

A total of 4,926 categories of science and technology journals are published in the country each year, and this figure equates to half of the country's total journal publications, according to Chen Guangyong, vice-chairman of the Wuhan Association for Science and Technology.

Speaking at a news briefing about the upcoming Eighth China Science and Technology Journal Development Forum, Chen said that more than 780 kinds of science and technology journals were resumed in 1978, and the number reached 5,100 at its peak in the next three decades.

Jointly organized by the China Association for Science and Technology, China's General Administration of Press and Publication and the Wuhan municipal government, the forum will be held in Wuhan, capital of Hubei on Oct 23 and 24.

It will focus on a development strategy for the sector and approaches to digital and online publications.

More than 100 papers have been received by the organizers of the forum, which will be attended by about 460 people.