(13 Jul 2026) Springer Nature’s latest regional white paper, Open for impact: China’s gold open access boosting global innovation and supporting the Global South, shows that, by July 2025, nearly 40% of citations to China’s 2022 gold OA articles now come from outside China. The data in the study shows how open access (OA) is supporting increasing international knowledge sharing and access to research worldwide, particularly among researchers in the Global South.
The report shows that, by July 2025, China’s 2022 gold OA articles generated more than 1.53 million citations from researchers outside China, including more than 742,000 citations from researchers across the Global South. The findings underline the growing international engagement with Chinese research and highlight the role open access can play in supporting the global exchange of knowledge.
Data also shows that:
- Publishing OA delivers a clear usage and impact advantage, with OA articles published in Springer Nature’s hybrid journals receiving almost twice as many citations and more than four times as many downloads in the Global South as comparable non-OA articles.
- OA strengthens international collaboration around shared global challenges, with co-authored articles between China and the Global South continuing to grow, while research linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including health, energy, climate and food, remains among the most cited in the Global South.
The white paper draws on publication and citation data from Dimensions, Altmetric data and other sources to examine the growth, reach and impact of China’s gold OA research. The full report can be read here.
The announcement is here.
