Over the past two decades, China has surged to become the world's largest producer of scientific knowledge. According to Digital Science’s Dimensions database, in the last year alone, China produced almost 830,000 research papers, constituting around 15% of the world's 5.4 million articles. In 2022, China surpassed the United States in the Nature Index for contributions to natural-sciences articles. However, most of this research has traditionally been disseminated through journals published by Western companies, with the biggest 20 international publishers releasing 83% of all research articles involving Chinese authors from 2012 to 2021.
Motivation for Developing Domestic Publishing
China's efforts to build its portfolio of domestic academic journals are driven by both economic and strategic reasons:
Economic Motivation: China spends over $1 billion annually on scientific publishing, a cost that is escalating due to the rise of 'gold' open-access publishing models where authors pay article processing charges (APCs) to get their papers published. From 2017 to 2020, APC spending in China increased by 25% annually, with 90% of that expenditure going to international publishers. By fostering domestic journals, China aims to retain a larger share of this APC spending.
Strategic Motivation: China seeks to shift away from Western-dominated scientific agendas to promote research that addresses its local issues and needs. According to Lili Yang, a higher-education researcher at the University of Hong Kong, publishing in domestic journals can help Chinese researchers connect better with local communities and issues. Moreover, China aspires to play a more active role in shaping the global academic-publishing system.
Initiatives and Challenges in Domestic Publishing
China is undertaking several initiatives to reform its fragmented publishing sector, which in 2020 consisted of 4,963 journals published by 4,261 publishers. Among these, only a handful of English-language journals have significant international impact. The China Journal Excellence Action Plan (CJEAP), launched in 2019, is a notable effort to create a portfolio of 400 world-class journals owned by Chinese institutions. Despite the ambitious goals, progress on improving the quality and impact of these journals has been slow.
Indexing Challenges: Indexing in the Web of Science is crucial for gaining visibility among Chinese scientists. Only 2-3% of journals in the Web of Science are published in China, making it a major goal for the Chinese government to increase this presence.
International Partnerships: To enhance global impact, many Chinese journals partner with international publishers, gaining access to advanced technology and expertise while retaining copyright and editorial control.
Government Influence on Publishing Practices
The Chinese government leverages its influence to direct where researchers publish. Reforms in research assessment and academic promotion systems encourage more publications in domestic journals. Many Chinese institutions maintain preferred journal lists and 'warning lists' of journals to avoid, significantly impacting where scientists choose to publish.
Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Early Warning List: This influential list identifies journals with poor management or lower academic reputation. Inclusion in this list can drastically reduce a journal’s submissions and damage authors' academic reputations.
Open Access Publishing
China produces a significant number of open-access articles, yet as a proportion of total research output, it remains lower than the global average. The Chinese government and institutions officially support open access but are wary of the gold open-access model, which is seen as a Western business model. To control costs, there are discussions about setting reasonable APC limits, with some universities rejecting APCs above $2,000 and proposing a reasonable APC around $1,200.
Conclusion
China's efforts to bolster its domestic science publishing sector are multifaceted, aiming to retain economic value and promote research aligned with national interests. While significant challenges remain, especially in improving journal quality and international indexing, the country's strategic initiatives and government influence are set to transform its publishing landscape. The success of these initiatives could reshape international scientific collaboration and communication, positioning China as a key player in the global academic publishing arena.
