The growth momentum of China in producing international scientific publications seems to have slowed down

In 2010 and this for the first time in 20 years the number of Chinese publications included in the Web of science dropped significantly. During the same period the USA kept a steady growth, although with a low rate of increase. This might indicate that China has reached a point of change in its growing speed in producing scientific publications. Why this could be the case is discussed in this short note.