Wikipedia

CNKI

CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure; Chinese: 中国知网) is a private-owned publishing company in China since 2014.[1][2][3] It operates databases of academic journals, conference proceedings, newspapers, reference works, and patent documents.

CNKI
China National Knowledge Infrastructure
Type of site
Digital publishing; Private
Available inChinese, English
HeadquartersBeijing
OwnerTongfang Knowledge Network Technology Co., Ltd.
URLoversea.cnki.net
cnki.net
CommercialYes
Launched1996; 28 years ago (1996)
Current statusActive

CNKI maintains monopoly status on journal search and collection in China and charges high annual database subscription fees.[4][5] Its subscription fee raises every year.[1][6] Multiple Chinese universities and research institutions, including the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Peking University, stopped subscribing to CNKI.[1][7][8] CNKI was fined CNY 87.6 million for monopoly by the State Administration for Market Regulation in 2022, and fined CNY 50 million for illegal gathering of personal information by the Cyberspace Administration of China in 2023.[9]

History and operation

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The predecessor of CNKI, China Academic Journals CD-ROM (CAJ-CD), was launched in January 1997 as China's first academic journal search system that publishes regularly. It included 3,500 Chinese journals in the fields of sciences, engineering, humanities, and social science.[10]: 108 

Published by a unit under Tsinghua University and created with the permission of the National Press and Publication Administration, the database was released as CD-ROMs, with each containing journals of a field. A disc was released monthly, except the volume on the arts, history, and philosophy, which was released every two months. In 1999, the database could also be accessed on the web.[10]: 108  It allowed users to comment, search, and inquire about academic works.[11]: 43 

In August 1997, the China Academic Journals Electronic Publishing House (CAJEPH) was established under the governance of the National Press and Publication Administration. The operation was run by Tsinghua University.[12]

CNKI owns a system called "China Integrated Knowledge Resources System," including journals, doctoral dissertations, masters' theses, proceedings, newspapers, yearbooks, statistical yearbooks, e-books, patents and standards.[13] In 2013, CNKI became the second DOI registration agency in mainland China,[14] after the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China under the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Government investigations

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By 2022, CNKI has been criticized for its high subscription fees that could be maintained because of its monopoly over journal search and collection service in China. Prominent Chinese universities and research institutions, including Peking University and the state-owned Chinese Academy of Sciences, have stopped subscribing to CNKI because of the fees.[15][16][17]

The public controversy was followed by a Chinese government investigation for anti-competitive practices. In May 2022, the State Administration for Market Regulation launched an investigation into CNKI.[18] The regulator said that since 2014, CNKI had violated anti-competition laws by raising prices repeatedly and splitting its database into smaller ones while keeping the price (see shrinkflation).[19] The regulator also found that CNKI's operator use exclusivity clauses to prohibit tertiary institutions from granting publishing rights of articles and theses to third parties.[19] In December, CNKI's operator was fined 87.6 million Chinese yuan (US$12.6 million), or 5 percent of its sales in China in 2021, and asked to cancel its exclusive agreements.[19]

In June 2022, the Cyberspace Administration of China announced a cybersecurity review on CNKI "to prevent national data security risks, safeguard national security, and protect public interests".[20][21][22] CNKI was fined 50 million Chinese yuan (US$6.84 million) for not disclosing the terms of personal information collection, allowing account deletion, and removing personal information after an account is deleted.[23]

Foreign access

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In March 2023, CNKI said that it will terminate access for universities and research institutions outside of mainland China.[24] However, the British Library and some universities in Australia, Hong Kong, Italy, Malaysia, Macau, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States can still access CNKI through their university library portals.[25]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "China's largest academic database CNKI put under cybersecurity review". South China Morning Post. 2022-06-24. Archived from the original on 2022-07-11. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
  2. ^ Tone, Sixth (19 April 2022). "China's Top Research Agency Stops Using Costly Academic Database". SixthTone. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
  3. ^ CPI (29 December 2022). "Chinese Watchdog Fines Academic Database CNKI For Monopolistic Practices". PYMNTS.com. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
  4. ^ "重罚8760万元，知网垄断案余音未了-中国知识产权资讯网". www.iprchn.com. Archived from the original on 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
  5. ^ "知网因滥用市场支配地位被罚--经济·科技--人民网". finance.people.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2024-01-14. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
  6. ^ "知网又涨价，中科院弃之，被嫌弃的知网为何频赚黑钱 | 界面 · 财经号". m.jiemian.com. Archived from the original on 2024-04-06. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
  7. ^ Education, Pola Lem for Times Higher. "Could China Be on the Verge of Breaking Up Database Publishing?". Inside Higher Ed. Archived from the original on 2023-12-11. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
  8. ^ "Top research body cuts use of China's largest online academic database over steep fees". The Star. Archived from the original on 2022-04-23. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
  9. ^ "被罚5000万元！知网违法收集了哪些个人信息？--湖北省科学技术厅". kjt.hubei.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 2024-04-06. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
  10. ^ a b Liu, Zhenxi; Li, Runsong; Ye, Qian (2006). Shiyong xinxi jiansuo jishu gailun 实用信息检索技术概论 [Overview of practical information search technologies]. Beijing: Tsinghua University Press. ISBN 9787302130680.
  11. ^ Wu, Dan; Zou, Jin; Huang, Rui; Wei, Fengping (2000). "Jizhong guangdie shujuku de bijiao yanjiu" 几种光盘数据库的比较研究 [A comparative study of three CD-ROM databases]. Tushu Qingbao Gongzuo 图书情报工作 [Library and Information Service] (9): 43–46. Archived from the original on 3 January 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  12. ^ sina_mobile (2002-08-21). "中国学术期刊(光盘版)电子杂志社简介". edu.sina.cn. Archived from the original on 2023-04-21. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
  13. ^ "CNKI and Utilization - CNKI". oversea.cnki.net. Archived from the original on 2021-04-13. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
  14. ^ Liu, Runda; Zhu, Yunqiang; Liu, Chuang; Wu, Lizong (September 2014). "Woguo kexue shuju DOI yingyong xianzhuang, wenti yu duice" 我国科学数据DOI应用现状、问题与对策 [Analysis on the Current Status, Problems & Countermeasures of Scientific Data DOI in China]. Zhongguo Keji Ziyuan Daokan (in Simplified Chinese). 46 (5): 65–71. Archived from the original on 2022-09-30. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
  15. ^ Xie, Echo (2022-04-19). "China's biggest academic database too expensive for its top research body". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2022-06-08. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
  16. ^ Liu, Jing (2022-05-13). "China's biggest academic database faces anti-monopoly probe". Times Higher Education. Archived from the original on 2022-06-08. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
  17. ^ Wu, Peiyue (2022-04-19). "China's Top Research Agency Stops Using Costly Academic Database". Sixth Tone. Archived from the original on 2022-06-15. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
  18. ^ Feng, Coco (2022-05-16). "How China's largest academic database allegedly abused market power for years". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2022-06-08. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
  19. ^ a b c "Shichang Jianguan Zongju yifa dui Zhiwang lanyong shichang zhipei diwei xingwei zuochu xingzheng chufa bing zeling qi quanmian zhenggai" 市场监管总局依法对知网滥用市场支配地位行为作出行政处罚并责令其全面整改 [State Administration for Market Regulation imposes administrative fine and urges full rectification to CNKI for abusing monopolistic market position]. Xinhuanet (in Simplified Chinese). Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on 2022-12-26. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
  20. ^ Shen, Xinmei (2022-06-24). "China's largest academic database CNKI put under cybersecurity review". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2022-07-11. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
  21. ^ Huang, Raffaele (2022-06-24). "China Probes Operator of Nation's Biggest Academic Database". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2022-07-06. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  22. ^ Lirun, Zezi; Guo, Meiting; Luo, Tian'en (2022-06-24). "Zhiwang bei cha! Wangluo anquan shencha huo cheng woguo wangluo anquan shengtai zhili changtaihua yuansu" 知网被查！网络安全审查或成我国网络安全生态治理常态化元素 [CNKI under investigation! Cybersecurity review might become a new norm in the governance of the internet security ecosystem]. 21 Jingji (in Chinese (China)). Archived from the original on 2023-06-07. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
  23. ^ Du, Zhihang; Jia, Denise (2023-09-07). "China Fines Top Academic Database $6.84 Million". Caixin Global. Archived from the original on 2023-09-07. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  24. ^ Pak, Yiu. "China slashing foreign subscriber access to key research database". Nikkei Asia. Archived from the original on 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  25. ^ CNKI (2023). "CNKI institution login page". Archived from the original on 2024-01-04.
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