From labs to billboards: Behind China’s push to turn scientists into patriotic icons

Billboards featuring renowned Chinese scientists Qian Xuesen (1911-2009) and Deng Jiaxian (1924-1986) were recently spotted at the Convention and Exhibition Center metro station in Zhengzhou, Henan province. Such displays first started in August 2026, when a portrait of the young Qian Xuesen appeared at the Shanxian Ginza Mall shopping mall in Heze, Shandong. Since then, giant tributes to Chinese scientists have appeared in major urban centres such as Chongqing, Hangzhou, Zhengzhou and Hefei. 

The billboards reflect the Chinese government and its leadership’s efforts to inspire the public to pursue science. In a recent survey of scientific literacy, 89% of Chinese respondents agreed that modern science and technology will provide more development opportunities for their descendants, while 89.2% agreed that public understanding of and support for scientific and technological innovation is the foundation for building China into a leading country in science and technology.

Support from Chinese leadership 

The campaign to celebrate major scientists also aims to foster the “scientist spirit” (科学家精神) as an ideal among Chinese researchers. On 27 May 2024, the party journal Qiushi (《求是》) published an official definition of “scientist spirit”, which should embody the characteristics of patriotism, innovation, pragmatism/truth-seeking, dedication, collaboration and nurturing talent. 

The article explained, “Without the unwavering spirit of scientists, it is difficult to achieve truly solid scientific and technological achievements. Only by vigorously promoting this spirit can the vast number of science and technology workers shoulder the historical responsibility of scientific and technological innovation and bravely become pioneers in achieving high-level scientific and technological self-reliance.”

As early as 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping had emphasised patriotism in scientific endeavours with a famous quote: “Science has no borders, but scientists have a motherland.” 

This is a reference to French chemist Louis Pasteur, who argued, “Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world.” Evidently, belonging to a motherland is important to Xi. 

In a speech at the 17th General Assembly of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2014, Xi also emphasised, “Science and technology must be integrated with social development. If you learn a lot but then shelve it, it will only be a form of curiosity, a hobby, or even a gimmick. It will not have any impact on real society.” 

In 2018, he summarised his expectations in the following manner: “Our hope is that academicians will carry forward the glorious tradition of serving the country through science, pursue the scientific spirit of seeking truth and scaling new heights, and maintain an academic atmosphere of innovation and rigorous pragmatism. They should consciously integrate their personal ideals into the great cause of national development, diligently explore the frontiers of science, and continuously achieve breakthroughs in major scientific and technological fields.”

These principles were ultimately adopted in the official policy document with the title “Opinions on Further Promoting the Spirit of Scientists and Enhancing Work and Study Styles”, issued by the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council on 11 June 2019. 

The ‘ideal’ Chinese scientist

The spirit of scientists is frequently illustrated by the patriotism and diligence of prominent Chinese scientists. For example, Xi has often argued that the successes of the “Two Bombs, One Satellite” programme (China’s early nuclear weapon, ballistic missile and artificial satellite development) depended on a group of leading talents, as well as on a powerful organisational system. Therefore, individual scientists, such as the rocket scientist and cyberneticist Qian Xuesen, who was instrumental in developing China’s aeronautical technologies, are regularly praised as model patriotic scholars. Many academicians have been held up as models of the scientific spirit, highlighting their patriotism, diligence and truth-seeking attitude. 

One more recent example is Chinese pharmaceutical chemist Tu Youyou, who after being inspired by traditional Chinese medical texts, discovered the anti-malaria drug artemisinin. She is the first Chinese scientist to win a Nobel Prize for research in natural science conducted in mainland China. Moreover, her discoveries were made during the Cultural Revolution — a difficult time for Chinese scientists, who were experiencing low levels of funding and heavy political criticism. 

Needless to say, several Chinese scientists gained early international recognition, such as Yang Chen-Ning who received a Nobel Prize in 1957 (alongside Chinese-American Tsung-Dao Lee) for natural science research conducted in the West, while Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010, becoming the first mainland Chinese citizen to be awarded a Nobel Prize of any kind while residing in China.

Issue of integrity and truthfulness

Although the “scientist spirit” does not explicitly list academic integrity among its keywords, the pursuit of truth should ideally serve to reject academic dishonesty. The issue of integrity was addressed in the 2019 opinion document issued by the State Council. The third section of the document argued: “Research integrity is the lifeblood of scientific and technological workers… Research ethics must be strictly adhered to, and the bottom line of academic morality must be upheld. Authorship and ranking should be based on the actual creative contribution to research results, opposing ‘nominal contributions’ without substantial academic merit.” 

Breaches of research integrity have been an important issue for some time in China. Guidelines had already been published in the notice on “The Five Don’ts of Academic Publishing” issued in 2015 by the China Association for Science and Technology. In December 2023, the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology released the Guidelines for Responsible Research Conduct, compiling additional details, including specifying truthful or dishonest conduct in activities such as data management, literature citation, statement of authorship, ethics review, academic exchange and collaboration. These guidelines underscore official concern about retractions of dishonest academic papers. A recent report revealed that research papers from Chinese institutions account for more than half of the retractions across ten academic publishers.  

In April 2026, a video by Geng Hongwei (or Student Geng), a former PhD candidate in bioscience, questioned the abnormal data in a paper published in the British science journal Nature by the team of the dean of the School of Life Sciences and Technology at Tongji University, Wang Ping. Within two months, the video attracted 1.5 million views and nearly 5,000 comments. Subsequently, Tongji University launched an investigation and acknowledged the academic misconduct in May. Becoming a well-known whistleblower, Geng has since exposed several other academic frauds.

His activities provide brief insights into China’s academic life, where immense pressure to publish and obsession with rankings have become pervasive. According to the Nature Index, which tracks higher-quality papers, China’s share (author contribution to research articles) rose from 5,022 in 2014 to 32,122 in 2024, accounting for more than 30% of total papers indexed globally. This level of expansion shows that Chinese academia is managed like a factory assembly line, with bureaucratic indicators covering project rankings, funding, publication counts, titles and countless other metrics. Although the quality of scientific research in China has improved during recent decades, the emphasis on quantity still tempts people to rely on fraudulent data, AI-generated text or “paper mills” that sell paper manuscripts.  

China’s growing scientific ambition

The Chinese government has used public space to visually reinforce its emphasis on the “scientist spirit”, signalling to citizens that technological mastery is a core element of civic identity and national strength. The public celebration of scientists and their contributions in China stands in telling contrast to developments in the US, where the Trump administration has cut university research funding and sought to reshape higher education through measures justified on grounds ranging from national security to alleged antisemitism and opposition to “wokeness”. The administration has also targeted universities over their handling of campus protests against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

The Chinese leadership has reaffirmed its strong support for scientists and the training of new generations of scientific talent. Whether or not the billboards make a significant difference, the Chinese public’s enthusiasm for science shows up in the surveys on scientific literacy and attitudes to the role of science and technology. At the same time, China’s scientific ecosystem is gaining ground as a considerable number of scientists have left the US or the UK to pursue careers in China in 2026. Ultimately, the government and the public’s support for science is set to improve China’s position in the global scientific system.

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