Horizons - China

Rise of a Giant

China's research system is expanding at a pace to rival that of its economic growth. Keen to become one of the world's strategic centers of knowledge creation, the emerging country is no longer content with being a workshop for low-priced goods. Unbeknownst to many, China will soon be spending a higher proportion of its revenue on R&D than Europe (2.5% is the stated goal for 2020). It has made development of science and education a strategic priority and aims to be a scientific and industrial power by 2020. Foreign research agencies, CNRS among them, as well as private companies have recognized that the Asian giant, with the third largest research budget in the world, has become a partner to be reckoned with. They are looking for more opportunities in diverse realms to share and produce knowledge in collaboration with Chinese scientists. “There is intense competition between countries to collaborate with China,” says Minh-Ha Pham-Delègue, head of the Asia-Pacific section at the CNRS Office of European and International Relations (DREI). “Countries like the United States and Japan have a very clear lead.”

Under its centralized system, research in China is largely administered by the state. Five-year plans set the overarching priorities. The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), the Ministry of Education and Scientific Academies– the most prestigious being the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS)– share responsibility for research. Created in the 1980s, national foundations like the Natural Sciences Foundation of China (NSFC) function in a similar manner to American foundations and the new French “Agence nationale de la recherche,” issuing tenders and evaluations for all fields of science except social sciences and humanities, which fall under the responsibility of the Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). The hallmarks of Chinese research clearly place it in the category of developing countries–albeit an exceptionally fast-developing country–with an overwhelming majority of research funds going to development-oriented activities (75%) and only 6% allocated to fundamental research.

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© J.-F. Sabouret

Rui Jin Hospital in Shanghai.

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CNRS' partnership with China dates back to 1978, when the French institution signed its first scientific cooperative agreement with CAS. At the time, the country had begun an era of liberalization after the scientifically bleak years of the Cultural Revolution. Today, half of the co-publications between the two countries involve CNRS research.

The nature of the cooperative efforts reflects both CNRS' established strengths–physics and chemistry– and the Asian giant's newest priorities–energy and sustainable development. The Franco-Chinese Catalysis Laboratory (LFCC) exemplifies these collaborations.

The partnership involves the French Institute of Research on Catalysis,¹ the CAS, the Dalian State Key Laboratory, and the prestigious Beijing University, along with the participation of French and Chinese petrochemical groups. LFCC thus combines all elements of a typical CNRS research project: high-level educational institutions and renowned laboratories, combined with private sector involvement. Another collaboration, the new International Associated Laboratory (LIA) on nano-biochemistry, established at the University of Xiamen last November, is characteristic of CNRS involvement in more theoretical domains.

The CNRS is also a key accomplice in China's ambition to develop stronger research capabilities in the life sciences. Two projects are taking place in Shanghai: one in the area of genomics, the other concerning ecology and sustainable development. The social sciences also occupy a substantial part, with between 150 and 200 French researchers in that field traveling every year in order to develop collaborations with their colleagues in China. The Georges Friedmann sociology lab at Paris-Sorbonne University has developed a fruitful collaboration with three Chinese universities on the topic of workers in unstable conditions, a matter of concern for both countries. Further projects are being developed on desert territories, with support from CNRS' Social Sciences and Humanities department.

At the local, national, and European levels, governments have shared CNRS' drive to create innovative research programs with China. The Island of Chongming research program in Shanghai, for instance, draws upon resources made available by the regional administration of Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France and by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The European Union, for its part, has created two important initiatives in favor of collaborative research with China. The first involved making 2006 the China-EU Science and Technology Year. “The idea is to give more visibility to the numerous projects that are already under way,” explains Pham-Delègue. “CNRS would like to participate by organizing a one-day event to promote its own bilateral programs.” Another European project, CO-REACH, seeks to give more coherence to Europe's science and technology collaborations. As part of that effort, the CNRS has agreed to map and benchmark the bilateral programs that exist between the European consortium and Chinese partners. “That way, they can be coordinated and optimized, with the ultimate goal of creating a more integrated Europe-wide collaboration with China,” says the Asia bureau director. Such is the size of the Chinese educational sector–1225 public universities–that researchers routinely “discover” new universities or laboratories with high-level activities. Individual initiative is thus a vital element for the development of research links.

For Catherine Bréchignac, CNRS president, French researchers can learn a lot from their Chinese colleagues in terms of mass research–where a large number of scientists are involved. For their part, French researchers bring an expertise in mathematics and the environment, offering a markedly different approach from that of American counterparts. Bréchignac also hopes to see entirely new domains emerge as fields of collaborative research, namely that of traditional medicine. With the growing number of high-level Chinese researchers visiting CNRS laboratories, this partnership is destined to grow.

Marianne Niosi

In figures

> 750,000 researchers and engineers

> 9 million students in 2002, of whom 600,000 are working towards a master's or a doctorate

> 618,000 professors

> 4.2% of world publications

> 36 CNRS research labs involved in structured  projects or exchanges

> 16 structured collaborations

> 3 CNRS institutional partners:The Chinese Academy of Science, The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and The Natural Sciences Foundation

CNRS President Catherine Bréchignac's Visit to China

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© J.-F. Sabouret

Signature of the agreement for the creation of a new international associated laboratory between Rui Jin Hospital in Shanghai and CNRS.

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Taking place November 19 to 26, Catherine Bréchignac's visit to China aimed to promote and enhance research ties with the country. In Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzen, and Hong Kong, she visited with counterparts from institutional associates–like the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Academies of Science and of Social Sciences, and the Natural Sciences Foundation–toured laboratories, and met with representatives of French companies established in China, as well as with French researchers working there.