This forum, which was moderated by Lisa Hinchliffe, who is Professor Emerita, University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, and Founder/Principal, Librarian in the Loop LLC, was held on 23 July 2026 and explored how China’s research ecosystem is evolving to support open science while strengthening the country’s scholarly publishing infrastructure. The discussion brought together academic, publishing, and policy leaders to examine China’s strategic priorities, the challenges of implementing open science, and opportunities for international collaboration. 

Summary

The forum opened with an overview of CHORUS’s mission to improve the value, discoverability, and interoperability of open research through better metadata and collaboration among publishers, institutions, and funders. After introductory remarks, Professor Yang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences delivered the keynote address, highlighting China’s rapid progress toward open science. 

Professor Yang described China’s remarkable growth in scholarly publishing, noting that the country produced approximately 4 million scholarly articles in 2024, with about 60% available through open access. He emphasized that, while publication output has expanded significantly, challenges remain in increasing the international visibility of Chinese journals, improving scholarly infrastructure, and developing transparent, sustainable publishing models. 

A major focus of the presentation was the Open for Science10 initiative, an endorsed UNESCO international effort designed to strengthen open science infrastructure, assess countries’ readiness for open science, and foster collaboration—particularly among developing nations. Professor Yang also discussed UNESCO-led efforts to compare open science infrastructures across East Asia and advocated for a global-local strategy that balances international standards with national priorities. In this context, he noted China’s potential leadership across the Global South. 

During the panel discussion, Professor Tieming Zhang (President of CUJS, Society of Chinese University Journals), Nicko Goncharoff (COO, EPSD, Inc. | Co-Founder, Signals), and Andrew Smith (Global Product & Marketing Director at Charlesworth) highlighted China’s strategic investment in developing world-class domestic journals and publishing platforms. The STM Journal Excellence Plan initiatives  aim to improve journal quality and elevate China’s role in global scholarly communication. Panelists observed that some of the internationally published journals are returning to Chinese publishing platforms. 

Research integrity emerged as another key theme. Panelists emphasized that China has implemented increasingly sophisticated research evaluation and accountability policies to improve trust in scientific publishing. They also discussed the growing role of artificial intelligence in supporting research quality, transparency, and editorial processes. 

The discussion concluded with an examination of China’s evolving approach to open access publishing. While participants acknowledged the continued importance of gold open access, they recognized the financial challenges associated with author publication charges at scale. Panelists suggested that green open access could become increasingly important in China as a more sustainable model for broadening public access to research outputs. The session closed with a shared emphasis on the importance of global interoperability, collaboration, and shared standards in advancing open science worldwide. 

Key Takeaways

• China continues to expand its leadership in scholarly publishing and open science. 
• Significant investments are being made to improve the quality and global visibility of domestic journals. 
• The Open for Science10 initiative seeks to strengthen international collaboration and measure open science readiness. 
• Research integrity and AI-enabled quality improvements are strategic priorities. 
• Green open access is gaining attention as a complementary, cost-effective model alongside gold open access. 
• International cooperation and interoperable research infrastructure remain essential to the future of open science. 

CHORUS would like to thank our sponsors for their continued support of CHORUS Events. The recording and presentations can be found on the event page.