China’s Academic Journal Landscape: Towards Diamond Open-Access Journals

Since open access (OA) was defined by the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) and gold open access journals gained recognition in the academic community, it has triggered a major transformation in the journal publishing model. Initially, gold OA was highly endorsed by BOAI. However, as time progressed, BOAI identified certain limitations within the gold OA model. Today, BOAI has shifted its stance and no longer supports the advancement of gold OA. This article examines the challenges that Chinese scholars face from predatory journals and mega OA journals, and pinpoints the underlying issues. An increasing number of academic journals are progressively shifting towards the diamond OA model, thanks to the efforts of the Chinese administrator and journal publishers. The article outlines several key initiatives in this transition, including OA publication monitoring, gradually phasing out APC payments, developing domestic diamond journals, and establishing domestic open scientific data platforms—all of which are integral to the evolution of academic journals. These measures aim to foster a more robust academic publishing environment, ultimately creating a reliable platform for scholars to share their research.