This latest report introduces the background, developers, selection criteria, application processes, and the number of journals included in these lists. It also outlines China’s early warning lists for international journals, designed to help researchers make informed publishing decisions, strengthen research integrity, and foster a robust research ecosystem. The report covers both the publicly available list from the Journal Ranking Team of the National Science Library, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a confidential list maintained by the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (ISTIC).

Access the report here:
Yan, Shuai; Robertson, Mark; Na, Eric (2025). Report on China’s OA Journal and Early Warning Lists. figshare. Online resource. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.29832920.v2

Also see Shuai’s previous report on China:
Yan, Shuai; Robertson, Mark; Zhang, Tieming; Zhang, Xin; Ren, Shengli (2025). Report on Phase II of the Excellence Action Plan of China’s STM Journals. figshare. Online resource. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.28553246.v3

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STM and ISTIC Launch Joint Open Research Fund to Advance Scholarly Integrity and Innovation

On September 26, 2024, the International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM) and the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (ISTIC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Beijing, marking a significant step toward deepening collaboration between China and the international research community.

Building on this foundation, STM and ISTIC have launched the ISTIC–STM Open Research Fund 2025, unveiled through newly released application guidelines in July 2025. The fund invites proposals from China’s academic publishing community and researchers, supporting studies that will help shape a more open, credible, and sustainable global research ecosystem.

The 2025 call for proposals focuses on three urgent and strategic themes:

1. Research on Copyright Issues under Artificial Intelligence
2. Research on How Academic Publishers Can Maintain Credible Content: Challenges and Strategies
3. Research on How Scientific Journals Can Fulfill Their Social Responsibilities

This initiative reflects STM’s and ISTIC’s shared commitment to fostering innovation, upholding research integrity, and contributing diverse perspectives to the global dialogue on scholarly communication.

[Image above: Members of the ISTIC–STM Working Group gathered in Beijing with STM CEO, Caroline Sutton, June 20, 2025]

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On June 17, 2025, STM co-hosted its inaugural APAC Conference in Beijing in partnership with CNPIEC and supported by Society of China University Journals. Themed “Open Driven by Innovation,” the event brought together over 300 leaders in research, publishing, and library services to chart a collaborative, innovative future for open science in the Asia-Pacific region. 

Held immediately after PubTech and in the lead-up to the Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF)—the world’s second-largest book fair—the STM APAC Conference is part of a joint initiative to foster international exchange and advance innovation in academic publishing. 

This milestone marked STM’s first regional event dedicated entirely to APAC—a region recognized for its innovation and growing global engagement. The conference emphasized the importance of regional strategies tailored to local contexts, and the value of international partnerships in building a more open, equitable research ecosystem. 

Here are a few highlights shared by CNPIEC: 

• The event was opened by CEO Lin Liying of CNPIEC and hosted by Wu Shangzhi, President of the China Periodicals Association, who highlighted China’s commitment to contributing to global open science.

• Professor Yang Wei of the Chinese Academy of Sciences called for affordable OA models for the Global South and emphasized the need for local publishing platforms to safeguard academic integrity and diversity.

• STM CEO Caroline Sutton shared an overview of the global policy context outside of Asia and urged APAC stakeholders to develop regional solutions driven by technology and cooperation.

• Panels, moderated by Mark Robertson (STM) and Zhang Tieming (CUJS), brought together global experts including representatives from Springer Nature, SAGE, DOAJ, ACS, and others. Discussions focused on sustainable open science, infrastructure development, and cross-border policy alignment.

• The event emphasized that APAC’s success in open science will rely on collaboration, innovation, and inclusive knowledge sharing. 

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On June 16, 2025, STM supported the 3rd PubTech Conference in Beijing, aligning with global partners to explore how technological innovation is reshaping scholarly publishing. Organized by China National Publications Import & Export (Group) Co., Ltd. (CNPIEC) and co-organized with the Society of China University Journals and APPA Key Laboratory, this year’s PubTech focused for the first time on academic publishing, under the theme “Publishing’s Future Empowered by Technology.”

Held in the lead-up to the Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF)—the world’s second-largest book fair—PubTech and the STM APAC Conference are two flagship events aimed at strengthening international collaboration and innovation in academic publishing. 

At PubTech, STM joined global colleagues to explore how technology is shaping the future of research communication. The conference offered a space for shared learning and collaboration across publishing and tech. STM was represented by Caroline Sutton, Mark Robertson, Sameer Puri, Lei Shi, Eric Na, and Shuai Yan. 

Here’s a summary from our partners at CNPIEC: 

The event brought together leading experts from global publishing houses, research institutions, and digital innovators. Keynotes addressed publishing integrity, corpus construction, and copyright protection. 

Highlights included: 

• CEO Lin Liying of CNPIEC highlighted AI developments like the “Luffa” large language model and their growing role in scholarly communication.

• STM CEO Caroline Sutton emphasized the publishing sector’s legacy of innovation and praised China’s investment in high quality scholarly publishing. 

• Speakers from Elsevier, Clarivate, Wiley, and others shared visions for how AI and technology are transforming knowledge production, dissemination, and solutions.

Panels explored AI in research integrity, licensing, and corpus building, offering deep insights into future innovation pathways. 

New technologies unveiled included Clarivate’s Academic AI Platform, MDPI’s JAMS, CNPIEC’s Luffa AI Studio, and Scinapse from South Korea’s Pluto Labs. 

The conference welcomed over 300 attendees from across publishing, academia, and tech sectors worldwide.  

The following day, focus shifted to the APAC Conference — a second event dedicated to open science in the region. Learn more here. 

More on this event:
https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202506/25/WS685b976aa310a04af22c86ee.html  

https://www.stdaily.com/web/gdxw/2025-06/16/content_355512.html (in Chinese) 

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The first session of the meeting was chaired by Dr. Yan Shuai, the STM China Consultant. Professor Yang Liying, Director of the Department of Metrics and Evaluation at the CAS Library and head of the Journal Ranking Team, delivered the welcome speech. Na Rongqi, Chair of the China Chapter, reviewed the key activities of STM in China in 2024 and introduced several important events planned for 2025. These include a joint STM APAC meeting with the China National Publications Import & Export (Group) Corporation (CNPIEC) during the Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF), the Second China Symposium co-organized with the Society of China University Journals (CUJS) on the morning of October 13 (the day before the STM Frankfurt Conference), and joint training with the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (ISTIC) later this year.

Member representatives engaged in discussions on a variety of issues. For example, with the increasing number of STM members in China, the demand for training for new editors and publishers is also growing. Could more targeted training courses be held in China? Various open access journal lists have been released by Chinese institutions. How can these lists be better understood? Research integrity has been a hot topic in recent years. Could STM provide typical integrity case studies? There are many differences between Chinese local publishing institutions and international publishers. What are the direct and efficient communication channels for them when applying for STM membership? Can the China Symposium in Frankfurt be live-streamed? Is registration required? Can the number of participants be larger than in 2023?

The second session was chaired by Na Rongqi. Yue Ting from the Journal Ranking Team introduced the review criteria for Open Access Journals Index (OAJ), the number of journal applications received so far, and the number of journals already included, among other information. Shen Zhesi introduced the compilation status of this year’s journal ranking and the early warning list. It is worth noting that this year’s journal ranking covers journals included in OAJ. The two experts also answered questions from the participants.

The STM China Chapter specially thanked Professor Yang Liying, Mr. Chen Fuyou, and other members of the Journal Ranking Team for their strong support for this meeting.

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This phase of the EAP is part of a larger goal to transform individual journal developments into an integrated, ecosystem-based approach, aiming to position China’s STM journals among the world’s top tier by 2035.

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