ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

International Data Circulation in the Geosciences: The Case of China (1950s–2000s)

• In Event: Shifting Perspectives on Data: Revealing Imbalances in Global Scientific Networks_1

English Abstract

The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) participation in international scientific data circulation after the International Geophysical Year (IGY, 1957) remains a crucial yet understudied episode in the history of science diplomacy. Drawing on previously unexamined archival materials from the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), this paper examines the PRC’s engagement with the World Data Centers system (WDCs) and with ICSU’s Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA, 1966), two principal bodies governing geoscientific data exchange in the late twentieth century. Tracing the PRC’s trajectory from the late 1950s to the early 2000s, the paper shows that China faced two simultaneous challenges: the need for international data to support national development, and the disadvantages created by a global circulation network—centered on the WDCs—from which it had initially been excluded. Viewed through the lens of science diplomacy, this marginalized position constrained scientific growth and shaped China’s strategies for international engagement. The paper demonstrates that the PRC mobilized diverse state resources—scientific personnel, information and library systems—to overcome these constraints. These efforts reveal that international data circulation was not a purely cooperative enterprise but one marked by negotiation, tension, and unequal access. The analysis argues that, by progressively expanding its involvement in the WDCs and CODATA, the PRC shifted from a disadvantaged participant to an increasingly influential actor within the global data circulation system. This case provides a valuable non-Western perspective on global data governance, highlighting the diplomatic dynamics and structural asymmetries that shaped China’s integration into international scientific networks.

Author

• Xiaoyue Hu