China-Australia decoupling could damage ‘mutual benefits’ from joint scientific research, study says
- China is now Australia’s biggest collaborator in scientific research papers, with the US falling to second place, the Australia-China Relations Institute says
- Despite ‘extensive’ benefits, safeguards must be in place for research on possible dual use technologies for both civilian and military uses, analysts say
China has overtaken the United States as Australia’s leading international partner in producing scientific papers, the results of which can often be commercialised, according to the Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI) at the University of Technology Sydney.
And while knowledge and research collaboration needed to be managed to ensure national security, this must be balanced with scientific discovery, the report argued.
In 2019, the number of Australian scientific papers involving a researcher affiliated with a Chinese institution grew by 13.1 per cent, while the number involving a US-affiliated researcher declined by 0.3 per cent, the ACRI report said.
This makes it plain that if Australia wants to be at the forefront of knowledge creation in material sciences, it is in Australia’s interests to engage with China
Australia-China collaborations now comprise 16.2 per cent of all Australian scientific papers, up from 3.1 per cent in 2005. The US is Australia’s second largest partner in scientific papers at 15.5 per cent followed by Britain at 11.7 per cent.