中国の大学における研究振興政策の変遷

—一流大学育成事業に着目して—

抄録

China launched the Double World-Class Project in 2015 as a new strategy to strengthen the competitiveness of its universities, especially in research. The word "double" in the project’s name refers to the fact that this strategy focuses on both institutional and disciplinary units, which is considered to be a new trend in research promotion policies in China. However, attempts to cultivate key disciplines in universities have already been made since the 1980s.

This article reviews the policies implemented by the Chinese central government to promote research in universities since the 1980s and summarizes their characteristics by purpose, funding source, and function of the universities selected.

In the 1980s, the central government selected and funded a few universities and several disciplines as the locus for research in the whole country, which served as the beginning of Chinese research promotion policies in universities. From the 1990s to 2015, the 211 Project and 985 Project selected more universities and set goals to cultivate World-Class universities as well as universities important for local and certain industries. Although the projects were launched by the central government, local governments also played a significant role in implementing policies by funding local universities. This attempt has been inherited by the Double World-Class Project since 2017, with many local governments participating in the cultivation of first-class universities and disciplines.