What is going on in magnesium alloys?

China has been developed into one of the most active regions in terms of both fundamental and applied research on magnesium (Mg) and its alloys in the world from a solid base laid by its prominent metallurgist and materials scientists over the past decades. Nowadays, a large number of young-generation researchers have been inspired by their predecessors and become the key participants in the fields of Mg alloys, which consequently led to the establishment of China Youth Scholar Society for Magnesium Alloys Research in 2015. Since then, the first two China Youth Scholars Symposiums on Mg Alloys Research had been held at Harbin (2015) and Chongqing (2016) China, respectively. A number of crucial research interests related to fundamental and applied Mg research were discussed at the conferences and summarized in this short perspective, aiming to boost far-reaching initiatives for development of new Mg-based materials to satisfy the requirements for a broad range of industrial employments. Herein, four main aspects are included as follows: i) Plastic deformation mechanism and strengthening strategy, ii) Design and development of new Mg-based materials, iii) Key service properties, and iv) New processing technologies. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.