The CHORUS Forum held on July 23, 2026, explored how China’s research ecosystem is adapting to support open science while strengthening its scholarly publishing infrastructure. The session, moderated by Lisa Hinchliffe, Professor Emerita at the University of Illinois Champaign‑Urbana and Founder of Librarian in the Loop LLC, brought together academic, publishing, and policy leaders to discuss strategic priorities, challenges, and opportunities for international collaboration.
The forum began with an overview of CHORUS’s mission to enhance the value and interoperability of open research through improved metadata and collaboration among publishers, institutions, and funders. Professor Yang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences delivered the keynote address, noting China’s rapid progress toward open science. He highlighted that the country produced about 4 million scholarly articles in 2024, with roughly 60 percent available through open access. While output has grown significantly, he pointed to challenges in increasing the international visibility of Chinese journals, improving infrastructure, and developing sustainable publishing models.
A central theme of the keynote was the Open for Science10 initiative, a UNESCO‑endorsed effort to strengthen open science infrastructure, assess readiness, and foster collaboration, particularly among developing nations. Professor Yang described UNESCO’s work comparing open science infrastructures across East Asia and emphasized the importance of balancing international standards with national priorities. He suggested that China could play a leadership role across the Global South.
Panelists including Professor Tieming Zhang, Nicko Goncharoff, and Andrew Smith discussed China’s investment in building world‑class domestic journals and publishing platforms. They noted that initiatives such as the STM Journal Excellence Plan aim to improve journal quality and elevate China’s role in global scholarly communication. Some internationally published journals are returning to Chinese platforms, reflecting this strategic investment.
Research integrity was another major focus. Panelists observed that China has introduced increasingly sophisticated evaluation and accountability policies to strengthen trust in scientific publishing. They also highlighted the growing role of artificial intelligence in supporting transparency, editorial processes, and research quality.
The discussion concluded with an examination of China’s evolving approach to open access publishing. While gold open access remains important, participants acknowledged the financial challenges of author publication charges at scale. They suggested that green open access could become a more sustainable model for broadening public access to research outputs. The session closed with a shared emphasis on global interoperability, collaboration, and common standards as essential to advancing open science worldwide.
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