China becomes New Zealand's fastest growing int'l science partner: report

WELLINGTON, July 7 (Xinhua) -- China is New Zealand's fastest-growing major international partner in co-producing scientific publications, according to a new report released on Friday.

The report, commissioned by the New Zealand China Council (NZCC), shows the share of New Zealand research co-authored with China increased from 7.7 percent to 11.6 percent between 2017 and 2022.

Among New Zealand's major research partners, this share is lower than Australia, where 16.7 percent of all publications included Chinese co-authors in 2022, and similar to Britain where 11.8 percent of research was co-authored with Chinese researchers last year, according to the report.

The report also shows that China now ranks fourth as an international research partner for New Zealand, behind Australia, the United States and Britain, and ahead of Germany.

China has become one of New Zealand's leading research partners across multiple disciplines, said NZCC Chair John McKinnon.

"Scientific and wider academic research collaboration and partnership between New Zealand and China deserves more recognition for the value it generates," McKinnon said.

Benefits to New Zealand include accelerated access to medical breakthroughs, biosecurity preparedness against invasive pests, a better understanding of the ocean environment, fruit species improvement and sustainable development of New Zealand's tourism sector, he said.

The report also identifies challenges and barriers to science and research collaboration with China, including limited funding opportunities and the need to manage risks associated with projects involving overseas partners.