Nature Publishing Group (NPG), part of Springer Nature, has released Turning Point: Chinese Science in Transition, a White Paper which takes the pulse of China's scientific research at a critical time in its development. It is the first report of its kind to be undertaken in China by a global publisher, drawing on quantitative and qualitative data NPG has recently gathered through interviewing and surveying more than 1,700 leading Chinese researchers.
As its pace of economic growth slows, China's stated aim is to move towards a more sustainable knowledge-based economy which will be driven by scientific and technological innovation. But the White Paper notes that average academic impact of Chinese research is not yet matching its growth in output, and lags behind the world average in a number of subject areas in normalized citation impact, one of the indicators of impact from research. The Chinese research environment therefore, like its economy, is at a turning point, and faces some unique challenges that need to be overcome in order to improve the quality and impact of the scientific output that will support sustainable growth.
The White Paper starts by focusing on a positive trend in Chinese science. It shows that China's long-lamented 'brain drain' has become a 'brain boomerang', with the vast majority of young Chinese scientists planning to return quickly to China after a period overseas: 85% plan to return within 5 years. This trend of faster-returning 'haigui' (homing turtles, as they are colloquially referred to in China), reflects the country's increased standing in global research, and a greater confidence Chinese scientists have in the country's future. China's increased efforts to attract, develop and retain talented researchers are also securing greater numbers from abroad.
In order to develop and retain these scientists, the White Paper argues that it is vital to implement policies and funding schemes that better address their needs and concerns. In a bid to better understand these, the White Paper looks into three key stages of research process: funding, conducting and sharing research. It concludes that the picture of the fundamental components of the research ecosystem in China is overwhelmingly positive, but there are still anomalies and barriers that frustrate researchers and thwart progress towards a culture that recognizes and rewards excellence and innovation.
Turning Point: Chinese Science in Transition is based on first-hand research undertaken in 2015, covering a broad range of almost 1,700 scientists across disciplines and regions in China. 1690 online surveys across China were completed and 32 in-depth interviews undertaken in four cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Xi'an). The research survey data is available at figshare. Interested parties may visit http://www.nature.com/press_releases/turning_point.pdf to read the full text of Turning point: Chinese Science in Transition.
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