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, andpatent documents.
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 underTsinghua University and created with the permission of theNational Press and Publication Administration, the database was released asCD-ROMs, with each containing journals of a field. A disc was released monthly, except the volume onthe 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 secondDOI registration agency in mainland China,[14] after the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
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, includingPeking University and the state-ownedChinese 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 foranti-competitive practices. In May 2022, theState 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 (seeshrinkflation).[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 millionChinese 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, theCyberspace 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 millionChinese 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]
In March 2023, CNKI said that it will terminate access for universities and research institutions outside ofmainland China.[24] However, theBritish 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]
^abLiu, 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.ISBN9787302130680.
^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. Retrieved3 January 2024.
^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. Retrieved2023-04-21.
^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. Retrieved2022-09-30.
