Red Science: China's Scientific Capital and the Future of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) produces the scientific and technological breakthroughs that place China among the major players in scientific innovation. However, the control that the Chinese government exerts over the Academy and the tradition of guanxi among its members prevent the CAS from take-off and securing a free environment to conduct original research. The article assesses the economic logic of scientific control and its effects within the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The paper's aim is to derive to what extent the CAS will remain as China's main provider of scientific innovation. The "national innovation systems" approach and the cultural traditions rooted in Confucianism are revised in detail to provide an accurate perspective. The paper concludes that the CAS' international reputation as a center of scientific and technological innovation might be at stake unless the Chinese government makes some critical reforms.