This document summarizes open access developments in China. It discusses that China had a transitional academic publishing system funded by the state until 1990. By 2010 publishers were expected to be financially independent but quality control was still developing. There is an established author-pays publishing culture with insufficient high quality outlets. Open access is seen as a way to increase research quality and transparency in China's developing scholarly publication system. It also notes China's demand for prestigious international publishing opportunities and potential to partner in open access initiatives.

1. Open Access Developments in
China
Dr Lucy Montgomery
Research Director, Knowledge
Unlatched
Vice Chancellor’s Research Fellow, QUT
Prepared For
Open Access and Scholarly Books
Knowledge Unlatched/Berkman Center
June 2013
<lucy@knowledgeunlatched.org>

2. 1. A transitional academic publishing system.
2. Established author-pays publishing culture.
3. OA as a mechanism for increasing quality and
transparency?
4. Demand for prestigious, internationally
connected publishing opportunities.
OA and China

3. 1. A Transitional Publishing System
• Until 1990 academic publishing funded and
run by the state.
• By 2010 almost all academic publishers
expected to support themselves financially.
• Poorly established systems for quality control.
• R&D Spending increasing by 20% per year:
$100 billion by 2007. Goal of 2% of GDP by
2020.

4. 2. Author pays publishing
• Withdrawal of state support for academic
publishers has prompted many to adopt an
‘author pays’ model.
• Insufficient high quality outlets.
• Few incentives for some publishers to enforce
quality standards.
• A system that is clogged with ‘junk’
publications.

5. 3. OA to increase quality and
transparency?
• The need to disrupt a malfunctioning
certification market
• OA models that emphasize credibility,
transparency and accountability
• Willingness to invest in OA as a means of
improving research quality
• Science Paper Online

6. 4. Demand for prestigious, connected
publishing opportunities
• Shortage of high impact publishing
opportunities within the Chinese system.
• Financial incentives and subsidies for authors
to publish in English.
• Evidence of willingness to engage with and
provide funding to support OA.
• China as a potential partner in OA initiatives.

7. Further Reading
• Ren, Xiang (2013) Beyond Online Preprints: formalization of open initiatives in
China. Learned Publishing, 26 (3) 197-205. Available at:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1087/20130308
• Jie, Xu and Wahls, Matthias (2012) The scholarly publishing industry in China:
overview and opportunities. Learned Publishing, 25 (1) 63-74. Available at:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1087/20120109
• Thanks to Dr. Xiang Ren, University of Southern Queensland, for help in preparing
this presentation.