How Can Chinese and Western Scientists Engage Constructively? 

Few problems facing societies respect international borders. But dealing with challenges like pandemics, climate change, and biosecurity at the global level requires navigating a complex landscape of political tensions, cultural differences, and—since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic—travel restrictions.
 
For researchers working on these issues, collaboration with international colleagues exposes them to knowledge and perspectives that can inspire new approaches and ideas. Yet the relationship between the most important actors in global science and technology, China and the West, is particularly fraught. Attempting to build a productive dialogue between scientists, Joy Y. Zhang, Sonia Ben Ouagrham-Gormley, and Kathleen M. Vogel created a series of regular meetings focused on governance of the life sciences.
 
“Our aim,” they write, “was to host a trusted forum where researchers inside and outside China could meet regularly, under the motto ‘sharing perspectives on shared challenges.’” What they learned through the process underscores both the difficulties and rewards of bringing together individuals with very different backgrounds, cultures, and expectations.

Read more about how to build sustained and meaningful dialogue between scientific communities.