China
Mark Cassar (pictured with Xingtao Ai, head of AIP’s China office), publisher of journals and technical publications at American Institute of Physics (AIP), which launched an office in China earlier this year
Our author base is extremely international. In the last few years China has really taken off in terms of scientific output. Physics is an international activity. People just happen to live in different countries. But, given its rapid growth in recent years, when we try to mirror the international spread of our authors in our reviewer pool and editorial boards, China takes on an increasingly significant role so this was an obvious choice for our first international office. In China there is a strong push to publish
in Western journals, and a lot of the best work gets showcased in international journals. There is a language barrier – some of the papers aren’t even written in good enough English for them to be reviewed – but it’s been getting better over the last five years or so. Many Chinese journals also publish in English. The big challenges are that China is a very
big country where lots of research is being done. We’ve sited our office near several major physics research institutions and are trying to
stay on top of the trends in physics. Researchers also tend to know the journal brands but not their publishers. There are some cultural differences too. The educational infrastructure doesn’t really
mimic Europe and North America, and there is a whole unknown layer of institutions. To get close to the Chinese physics community we need to have people there. We have a Chinese national working in the office but it is also important for people from the USA to
visit. We plan to visit places where we have authors, tour their labs and talk with them about their research, as well as issues such as funding. Engagement at conferences is also important, to show our support and see the key people. It is good to meet new graduates and educate them about journal processes too. Social networking tools will be an interesting development to watch in the future. It’s part of Chinese culture to communicate. It seems that everyone in China has a mobile phone too.
‘To get close to Chinese
physicists we need to have people there’
The Chinese publishing industry is also
going to grow and become more international. To be involved in that in some way would be a success story for us. We hope having an office there will send out the message that we are serious about China.
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