China Orders Review of Foreign Research Submissions as SCI Papers Reach Nearly 33%
Updated
Updated · Financial Times · Jul 5
China Orders Review of Foreign Research Submissions as SCI Papers Reach Nearly 33%
2 articles · Updated · Financial Times · Jul 5
Summary
June guidance from China’s security ministry said foreign-journal submissions, international conference papers, cross-border exchanges and overseas research ties must undergo strict pre-disclosure review and external-release approval.
Beijing is also weighing changes to academic evaluation that would cut or remove the career premium for publishing in top international journals, after officials linked overseas submissions to leaks of technical know-how.
Almost one-third of global Science Citation Index papers came from China-based authors in 2024, up from 5% two decades earlier, making entrenched SCI-driven promotion incentives harder to unwind.
Since August 2025, China has tightened oversight of foreign academic publishing and pushed domestic journals; one international publisher has already seen submissions from China fall this year.
The shift marks a broader turn from knowledge acquisition to knowledge control, as China tries to protect sensitive advances without derailing its scientific ambitions.