On March 27, 2024, Elsevier released the 2023 list of "Highly Cited Chinese Researchers." A total of 5,801 Chinese scholars, recognized for their global influence across various disciplines, were included in the list. These scholars hail from 496 universities, enterprises, and research institutions, spanning 10 academic fields and 84 first-level disciplines as defined by the Ministry of Education. The list is based on data from Scopus, the world’s authoritative citation and indexing database, and has garnered significant attention from both domestic and international media and scholars.

From Nankai University's Institute of Economic and Social Development, two scholars were honored: Professor Li Xiang, whose research focuses on modern logistics and supply chain management, and Associate Professor Jiao Zhilun, specializing in e-commerce logistics, logistics planning, and policy. They are the only two scholars selected from Nankai University in the fields of economics and management.