China cannot be ignored

At the Sino-German Cooperation Conference, representatives of Chinese institutions showed a great deal of interest in an exchange of information and experience with Münster University's press officer, Norbert Robers ( left ). © private The figures speak for themselves. It is estimated that state expenditure for research and development in China have increased tenfold since 2000. At the same time, in no other country in the world do researchers publish more scientific publications - as was shown in an analysis of around 17 million articles published between 2013 and 2018. China appears to be determined to assume global power status - not only politically and economically, but also in the field of science. At any rate, there will be no lack of finance or third-party funding, running into billions. "China wants to play in the top league in as many areas of research as possible," says Dr. Karin Zach, Director of the Sino-German Center for Research in Beijing which was set up by the German Research Foundation.