Recently, the Office of the China Science and Technology Journal Excellence Action Plan issued the Notice on the Public Announcement of the Proposed Projects for High-Starting-Point New Journals under the 2025 China Science and Technology Journal Excellence Action Plan (Phase II). The notice pointed out that, after project application, qualification review, and defense evaluation, a total of 70 proposed projects have been generated. Among them, National Materials, independently founded by the School of Materials Science and Engineering of Peking University, has been selected into the High-Starting-Point New Journal Project of the China Science and Technology Journal Excellence Action Plan.

It is understood that the Phase II of the China Science and Technology Journal Excellence Action Plan (2024–2028) is jointly implemented by the China Association for Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance, the National Press and Publication Administration, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. It consists of five subprojects, namely English-language journals, Chinese-language journals, high-starting-point new journals, cultivation of high-level journal publishing talent, and cluster (group)-based pilot programs. The implementation period is five years. The High-Starting-Point New Journal Program follows the principles of forward-looking planning, field-based journal selection, and highlighting leadership, aiming to make up for shortcomings, fill gaps, and promote the aggregation of high-quality publishing resources. Priority is given to supporting the establishment of high-starting-point scientific journals, in either English or Chinese, in areas of traditional strengths, emerging interdisciplinary fields, strategic frontiers, and key generic technologies, so as to expand platforms for high-end academic exchange.

National Materials is an international flagship journal in the field of materials science newly established by Peking University in collaboration with the internationally renowned publishing group Wiley. The journal is co-founded and led by Academician Zhang Jin (Peking University), a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Academician Konstantin Novoselov (National University of Singapore), Nobel Laureate in Physics, who serve as the founding Editors-in-Chief. An international editorial board composed of outstanding scholars from around the world has also been established.

National Materials focuses on the field of advanced functional and structural materials, and is committed to publishing innovative achievements covering the entire chain from material synthesis and processing, structural characterization, and performance optimization to applications. The journal takes building an international frontier exchange platform for materials science as its purpose, aiming to bring together the strength of the global materials community and promote innovation and development in the field of materials science.