How much for foreign prestige? China says no to some Western science journal fees

South China Morning PostEN 1 min read 100% complete by Ling XinMarch 2, 2026 at 07:00 AM

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China's Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the country's top research body, has prohibited its scientists from using government funds to pay article processing charges (APCs) for certain high-fee Western journals. The policy, announced in February, aims to control expenditure and improve research fund efficiency. The ban applies to journals such as Cell Reports, Nature Communications, and Science Advances, which have high APCs. This change reflects China's reevaluation of its spending on foreign prestige and a focus on optimizing the management of academic publishing. The policy impacts researchers at CAS, the world's largest research institution, and their ability to publish in prominent open-access journals.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

United States 40% Beijing 50% Springer Nature 50% American Association for the Advancement of Science 50% Cell Reports 60% Science Advances ×270% Nature Communications ×270% Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) ×280% China 90%

Keywords

science journal fees 90% china 80% open access 70% research funding 70% article processing charges 70% chinese academy of sciences 60% academic publishing 60% scientific research 50% western journals 50%