Better planning, services required for continuous progress

To expand China's scientific outreach, the nation will need stronger government planning and support, as well as better management and services to overcome cultural and legal barriers overseas, experts said.

Fostering greater recognition and trust in China's scientific capabilities in other countries will be key for future scientific cooperation, they added.

In November, the Chinese Academy of Sciences launched the Alliance of International Science Organizations, the first organization created to connect the scientific communities of participants in the Belt and Road Initiative, with the goal of improving scientific cooperation, sharing knowledge and promoting sustainable development.

The first 37 members of the alliance recently published an action plan for 2019-20. They plan to establish a prize for contributing to scientific cooperation within the BRI, new scholarship programs, subsidiary groups on specific issues and new joint talent-training programs.

Last year, CAS collaborated with 97 countries and regions, and signed 29 cooperation agreements to deepen collaboration in environmental sciences, artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge endeavors.

Huang Jiasheng, chief scientist at the CAS South America Center for Astronomy, located in Chile, said there are still many challenges facing the expansion of China's scientific outreach, one of which is navigating cultural and legal situations overseas.

"Cultural norms and administrative procedures between China and Latin America can be very different," he said.

"This can be a headache for scientists, who are not trained to sort through paperwork. Some overseas projects may progress slowly as a result."

Hu Chunsheng, director of the Center for Agricultural Resources Research at CAS, said another issue is the lack of knowledge and recognition of China's scientific ability and intentions.

"Some people are still skeptical of China as a global scientific power. People may not wholeheartedly accept our products and technologies, even if they are superior to existing ones," he said.

He added that possible solutions include increasing government participation in scientific cooperation and ensuring that Chinese technologies are good enough to rebuff criticism.

"If the political relationship is generally positive and people are truly benefiting from Chinese technologies, the future of collaboration will be bright."

Zhang Zhihao

(China Daily Global 04/29/2019 page4)