We believe in the global impact of research from China

As KeAi turns 5, open access and technology expand the global stage for Chinese research. Elsevier’s joint venture with CSPM publishes 40+ Chinese-rooted international journals.

Research in China has experienced a surge in output. As KeAi, Elsevier’s Beijing-based open access joint venture with Chinese Science Publishing & Media Ltd (CSPM), turns 5 this year, we asked General Manager Gert-Jan Geraeds for his thoughts on research in China, the importance of open access, and how KeAi is using Elsevier’s technology in article recommendation and article submission to respond to changing needs.

How has research in China evolved?

The world has seen pioneering research in all disciplines emerge from China and evolve at an unprecedented pace. There is no lack of ambition or support to realize these ambitions. China’s expenditure on research and development is expected to surpass that of the US this year, giving China the research investment lead globally. The research population, currently more than 3.7 million full-time researchers, is growing rapidly. And the number of international publications from China has increased some 17 fold over the last two decades. China now is second only to the US in publication of scientific articles and is expected to take the lead in the near future. The quality of Chinese output has also improved significantly. Chinese papers account for about a fifth of the world’s most-cited articles. We believe that the global impact of research from China will only continue to grow in the years to come.

How many journals does KeAi publish today?

Today, KeAi publishes more than 40 open access journals across all scientific fields. Through these Chinese-rooted international journals, we are unfolding cutting-edge research globally, of which a good portion comes from China. These journals include partnerships with esteemed organizations as diverse as the Chinese Medical Association, the Chinese Petroleum Society and the Botanical Society of China to publish their international journals.

All our journals are community driven, responding to a need from researchers, particularly from China. Elsevier is one of the world’s largest publishers of open access content, and the support we have for OA is reflected in the approach taken by KeAi. All journals are open access, free to read immediately anywhere. In partnership with the Chinese research community, we develop new journals that provide a platform for research in which China has a leading role or plans to take a leading role.

Recent achievements include many of those journals being indexed by prominent databases, including Scopus, Web of Science’s ESCI and BIOSIS, and PubMed Central.

What makes KeAi different than other international publishers?

In combining our in-depth knowledge of the research environment in China and personal attention with the availability of Elsevier’s cutting-edge technologies, we help increase Chinese authors’ efficiency. We offer a state-of-the-art online article submission system, for example, and can address authors’ questions and concerns in their own language. That’s one way of ensuring the most effective publication process for the author.

Publishing their articles open access on ScienceDirect ensures the largest possible global audience for their work. Our smart algorithms support even greater discoverability of their articles, which are recommended to readers of targeted journals. It’s this unique combination of a personalized approach with the availability of the latest technologies that supports Chinese authors in making an impact globally.

Relationships mean everything in China. Business, everyday life, and society as a whole is built on developing and maintaining relationships. Through CSPM, we have direct access to China’s STM community, its top institutes, thought leaders and up-and-coming researchers. Leveraging CSPM’s reputation and extensive networks in China, we are uniquely positioned to build meaningful relationships with China’s most influential researchers. Utilizing Elsevier’s cutting-edge technologies enables us to unfold the knowledge gained through these networks to the world and to disseminate research globally.

What’s more, we speak the language of China’s research community, figuratively and literally. Our networks and geographic location enable us to truly engage with the academic community in China. We understand their needs. And our team of experienced native Chinese publishers have short lines of communications with our authors, reviewers and editors.

What’s next for KeAi?

We aim to become China’s largest publisher of high quality open access journals.

In addition to our presence in China, we have secured support in India, Europe and the US for our analytics, publishing, production and marketing activities. KeAi’s global presence underlines that we are a Chinese publisher, with Chinese roots, but with global ambitions and impact. Driven by researchers’ needs, we will continue to translate the insights and community intelligence gained in China to continue to grow. With science and research developing so rapidly in China, knowing local academic culture and having short lines of communication is essential to maintaining the highest quality standards. In combining international scales with fast open access publication and personal attention, we are looking forward to growing together with research from China.