The Role of Chinese Scientists in Big Science and Global Environmental Concerns

Abstract

Big Science, characterized by interdisciplinary and international cooperation, encompasses large-scale, long-term scientific and technological projects that require substantial funding and significant human resources. Contemporarily, Big Science has evolved into multidisciplinary and multinational scientific cooperation programs that generate big data that can be used to address global environmental concerns. Through the past decade, China has emerged as an ambitious latecomer in Big Science projects, and Chinese scientists, as non-state actors, are actively engaging in these projects. However, empirical research on the motives, processes, and outcomes of Chinese-led Big Science initiatives remains under-analyzed in the global environmental governance literature.

Therefore, drawing from science-policy interface theory, this study examines the nature of China’s leadership in Big Science projects on global environmental concerns, including its political background, stated goals, and the role of scientists within an authoritarian regime. China’s contemporary Big Science projects aim to foster science and technology cooperation for diplomatic purposes, enhancing China’s soft power. The government maintains an absolute leadership position over scientists, who, as semi-governmental actors, must adhere to governmental policies. Simultaneously, the Chinese government is open to incorporating scientific policy recommendations from scientists to fill gaps in professional knowledge and achieve its environmental strategies. This challenges the conventional understanding that China’s scientists are fully controlled by the Chinese authoritarian government. Thus, Chinese scientists play a crucial role in proposing and managing Big Science projects. However, their policy proposals are required to align with the broader governmental strategies. For example, scientists need to support the strategy of the One Belt One Road Initiative’s green transformation, known as the “Green One Belt One Road Initiative,” to target the partner countries’ environmental concerns in the projects.

As a case study, this paper considers a major Chinese-led Big Science project, the “Third Pole Environment,” to explore the interactive science-policy interface mechanisms among Chinese scientists, participating countries and their scientists, international organizations, and the Chinese government. While Chinese scientists must navigate the politics of starting up Big Science, they can form a transnational scientific community with foreign scientists and international organizations. This collaboration promotes knowledge sharing and elevates their global academic reputation. The huge amount of environmental data generated under the project has directly contributed to reforming domestic environmental policies in China. Additionally, collaborating with international organizations has provided new scientific knowledge pertaining environmental concerns in participating countries. However, the paper also raises concerns about Chinese-led international Big Science projects, such as the risks of potentially compromising the data sovereignty of participating countries and fueling the expansion of China’s digital hegemony, especially over the partner countries under the “Green One Belt One Road Initiative.”