China¡¯s international research collaboration rate?is stalling, in?part because its domestic output is?growing so?rapidly, according to?analysts.

Data from shows that Chinese universities produced a?total of?741,160 papers in?2023 ¨C of?which 147,951 (20?per cent) involved cross-border co-authorship. This was the lowest proportion of?the past decade, and down from a?peak of 27.4?per cent in?2018.

Jonathan Adams, chief scientist at Clarivate¡¯s Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), said China¡¯s number of international collaborations was lower than might be expected, given the?rapid growth of its research sector.

¡°That is because it¡¯s like water pouring on to the kitchen floor ¨C you can only soak it up so quickly. And in China¡¯s case, it¡¯s like the sink has overflowed and the water¡¯s going everywhere,¡± he told Times Higher Education.

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¡°There¡¯s so much research that it¡¯s just impossible for potential partners to soak up all of that collaboration immediately, so it¡¯s going to take time.¡±

In contrast to China and Russia, the figures suggest, the rest of the world is becoming increasingly outward-facing. Clarivate found that a record 52.9?per cent of papers across the G20 involved collaborations with international partners last year.

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Since 2020, China has been integrating less quickly into the global research environment and has been becoming ¡°more internal than external¡±, according to Daniel Hook, chief executive of Digital Science.

¡°This looks to be because China is not well integrated into global research and it lacks, as others lack, the ability to collaborate at scale over distance,¡± he said. ¡°It?isn¡¯t necessarily a desire to move away from China.¡±

Data from Digital Science shows that collaborations between the US and its main partners have plateaued in recent years, but those with China have dropped significantly since 2021.

¡°Research policy is affected by political policies, and trade disputes and chip wars will tend to decrease the direct collaboration between China and the?US,¡± Dr?Hook said.

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¡°As a result, I?would tend to believe that the decoupling will continue at about the same rate as it is currently taking place.¡±

While there has not been a collapse in US-China links, Dr Adams said, uncertainty has been created by the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, and by?¡°security concerns becoming security constraints¡± in certain fields.

However, he expected collaborations between the two countries to be maintained because individual academics will always want to carry on working with leading people in their field.

¡°We¡¯re not in a Cold War situation with China, and the Chinese are doing some great stuff,¡± he?said.

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patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com