Safeguarding research integrity in China

China has an impressive record in the total number of scientific publications in the past decade. In 2012, it churned out 193 733 Science Index Citation papers—4.7 times the 2002 level and second only to the United States. Unfortunately, the standards of science integrity has not kept up with the pace of this development, and many cases of research misconduct have been reported. This prompts many to fear that the country is now facing a critical problem in the field of scientific ethics. In a forum chaired by National Science Review's executive associate editor Mu-ming Poo, five panellists from diverse backgrounds discuss how serious the problem is, what the root causes are, and how to safeguard research integrity in China. Gaoqing Max Lu Provost and Senior Vice President of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia Renzong Qiu Bioethicist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Philosophy in Beijing Chunfa Wang Executive Secretary of the Chinese Association of Science and Technology in Beijing Wei Yang Director of the National Natural Science Foundation of China in Beijing Lu Ye Managing Director and Editorial Director, Physical Science & Engineering of Springer China Mu-ming Poo (Chair) Neuroscientist and Director of Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Neuroscience in Shanghai