This study analyses the characteristics of English-language journals funded by the second phase of the China Sci-Tech Journal Excellence Action Plan (CJEAP) and provides evidence-based strategies for the development of Sci-Tech Journal Development in China. Using the Web of Science (WoS) database and the official websites of the journals, this study obtained and analysed the bibliometric indicators of the selected English leading journals and emerging journals to explore the development of the journals, including the Journal Impact Factor (JIF), percentile of impact factor ranking, Category Normalized Citation Impact (CNCI), volume of articles, rate of international cooperation, and percentage of Chinese scholars. The findings reveal that funding for Phase Ⅱ of the CJEAP has increased, with the majority of selected journals established after 2010, of which 28.5% were founded between 2010 and 2014. The journals are predominantly hosted by universities (36.00%), followed by research institutes (28.00%), societies (24.00%), and other institutions (12.00%). The Ministry of Education, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Chinese Association for Science and Technology are the three major competent units, accounting for 30.50%, 26.00%, and 22.00%, respectively. In addition, 70% of these journals had previously been included in Phase Ⅰ of the CJEAP, highlighting the continuity of the funding initiative. The complete data of 189 journals, including 83 OA journals and 103 hybrid OA journals, were retrieved from Web of Science. These journals span 114 WoS categories, with 119 journals ranked in the top 15 disciplines, including 18 journals in materials science. In terms of article volumes, the average article volume for 2023 among the selected journals is 150.97, markedly higher than the average value of 67.45 for unselected journals. Most journals have annual article volumes of 50~200 articles, with specific counts of 61 journals annually publishing 50~100 articles and 60 journals publishing 100~200 articles. Regarding citation metrics, 161 journals are ranked in the Q1 quartile of Journal Citation Reports (JCR), with an average JIF ranking percentile of 84.86 and a CNCI of 1.96. In comparison, the unselected journals have a lower average JIF ranking percentile of 60.69 and a CNCI of 0.86. Regarding international influence, the average international cooperation rate of the selected journals is 23.64%, while the average proportion of Chinese scholars is 80.30%. In addition, the proportion of Chinese scholars in the cited literature remains high. The percentage of Chinese scholars and the international cooperation rate of the leading journals are higher than those of the emerging journals. Research findings indicate that leading journals excel in citation metrics and publication volume, whereas emerging journals, despite their high citation metrics, often have lower publication volumes. The second phase of the CJEAP involves the selection of English journals that show overall positive development trends. However, challenges persist, such as insufficient publication volume, low international collaboration rates, and suboptimal author diversity. To address these issues, policy-driven strategies are proposed to explore synergistic pathways for balancing impact factors and publication volume, attracting high-quality domestic and international research outputs, and fostering balanced authorship structures. Further, greater attention should be paid to unselected journals to promote the systematic cultivation of China's sci-tech journal ecosystem.