Research: The image of international cooperation in transformation

Indeed, we have been noticing this since 2017 Decrease in research involving collaboration Between researchers from China and the United States. Even the pandemic has not succeeded in reversing this trend, although international cooperation on the pandemic is on the rise.

We must also remember that last spring, China ranked first in the ranking of the largest contributors to high-level scientific journals: “ Nature index », which brings together 82 prestigious journals, incl Nature, science, cell or Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2016, China ranked first in terms of the total number of scientific articles, in all categories combined, according to a report issued by the US National Science Foundation.

Of course, these and other rankings have their limitations, because a greater number of publications say nothing about the impact they might have (a calculation made largely by the number of times a study is cited). But this data shows how much the Chinese giant has caught up over the past few decades.

It also illustrates the danger of seeing the two superpowers taking separate paths. review nature Posted just this week Text based on modern audio data Nature index: The proportion of publications from China that were signed solely by Chinese researchers increased from 72% in 2015 to 82% in 2022. In comparison, the proportion of the United States rose from 75% in 2015 to 70% in 2010. This therefore means a slight increase In the number of articles without foreign cooperation, but this grouping hides another fact: the decline in cooperation between China and others is striking when we only observe cooperation between China and Western countries, but we see cooperation emerging. With smaller countriesEspecially through the “New Silk Road” initiative.

In editing On November 29, nature International travel restrictions during the pandemic reportedly played a role, but geopolitical tensions clearly did Play one too. This is not good news at a time when “the greatest challenges facing humanity, from combating climate change to eradicating poverty,” require international cooperation and specific goals together. Addressing these challenges “without sharing knowledge will only slow progress by creating systems that compete in seeking and implementing solutions.”