`Walking between the lines’: research evaluation in China beyond COVID-19

Abstract

Based on the glonacal agency heuristic, this study reviews major policy changes regarding research evaluation in China beyond COVID-19, and how research universities strategically adjust their institutional strategies in response to complex and even conflicting global and national forces. In the post-COVID-19 era, two major changes occurred in China’s national research evaluation policies, namely, a reversal of the publication-supremacy and a shift toward a focus on social impact, and a reversal of the SCI-supremacy and a shift toward a focus on domestic journals. However, without substantial and concrete matching policies to support these changes, universities might find themselves in a difficult position to change due to the increasing performative pressure to compete in university ranking schemes, the normative expectation of building world-class universities with Chinese characteristics, and the reproductive force of global neoliberalism. By addressing local responses and realities, this study reveals the dilemma faced by Chinese universities and how they strategically seek balance between quality and quantity, between internationalization and indigenization, and between academic publication and social impact.