China


Tony Zhou (left, pictured with business partner Boudewijn Heeren) is managing director of Inspirees International, which represents Western publishers in China and Chinese publishers in the West


With increasing numbers of university graduates (6.5 million every year) and governmental investment into high education, university library budgets have increased by 20 to 30 per cent annually in recent years. China imports publications mainly from American and European publishers. Officially these have to be done via state-owned importers, which makes the importing more complicated. But big consortia, such as NSTL and CALIS, are able to negotiate the price


directly with foreign publishers. NSTL has several hundred members, most of which are universities and research institutes in China. STM is still the main focus but, in recent


years, we have seen increased interest in social sciences and humanities and in non- English publications. China is very open to new technologies,


but also cost-driven. As the price of new technology and tools is lowered, we can expect much quicker adoption of new technology such as e-book readers in China.


Deborah Yang is Chinese but works for Charlesworth in the USA as its account manager and communication officer. She has experience of academic research in both China and the West


Chinese researchers have been making great progress in scientific research and publishing and they are looking to publish in internationally prestigious journals. The government and institutions offer a good range of incentives for this, including professional promotion, monetary rewards, funding opportunities, and other benefits. These incentives provide motivation to researchers, but they also create a great amount of pressure. To improve the situation a good system


for research evaluation is needed, rewarding researchers that contribute to long-term development in subject areas as well as those who make immediate impact in research. Also, the people who have power to evaluate the research and distribute resources should be subject experts in the research area. New technology strengthens the


connection between China and the West. For example, a great deal of communication can be done through phone calls, emails, online forums, or online symposia. But face-to-face meetings in China are still very important, and Western publishers should be prepared to visit China many times if they really want to cultivate relationships, and


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develop their ‘guanxi’ (business trust) in China. Publishers should also be aware that there can be translational issues. If they are looking to translate educational, marketing or promotional material, they should have a local expert check its relevance and appropriateness for the China market. The Charlesworth Group has seen and supported


‘New technology strengthens the


connection between China and the West’


an increase in publisher desire to put some content into Chinese. This also includes the creation of Chinese language websites and the use of .cn domain names to help promote their brand and name within China and increase the findability of their content there. Publishers often spend a lot on their brand


and name in their core market, but not as much focus on how to really be known and welcomed in large developing markets like China.


Antoine Bocquet is associate director Asia-Pacific, Nature Publishing Group, and executive vice president of NPG Nature Asia-Pacific


Chinese libraries moved from using pirate photocopies of print titles, to buying legitimate


subscriptions,


print to


purchasing large site licences for databases of content within a very short period of time. As such, many collections are very heavily based on recently-acquired electronic content. Most Western publishers started selling site licences in China around 2004 and offered large amounts of content at substantial discounts. Most of these companies are now struggling to adjust their prices as the Chinese libraries, the CALIS consortium and the Ministry of Education in China resist fiercely any significant price rises. Usage from China is rising at a great pace each year, and cost-per-download rates are now much cheaper than in the West. The Chinese academic market consists


mainly of a core group of about 100 universities and 87 Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) institutes. Although there are perhaps 600 universities in China, the 500 smaller institutions cannot afford electronic content, or do not have the research interest to buy foreign journals. As such the market is not as large as many people think; much of the purchasing power, and scholarly need, is in the hands of a relatively small number of customers. Most Chinese scientists, even younger scientists, have sufficient English ability to understand foreign publications. Probably the greatest challenges are cultural differences, including the lack of accountability that we often find in Chinese research. However, there are many successful collaborations now, particularly as many Chinese scientists have returned to China after considerable experience working in the West.


Research Information August/September 2010 15


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