Knowledge and expertise in dealing with China are essential, especially for Germany's science and research institutions. The Regio-China projects launched in 2023 with BMFTR funding are an expression of this recognition and have been very successful in their mission to disseminate and deepen China-related expertise across institutions in their respective regions. Funding for these projects will expire in 2026, which threatens to be a major setback.

The long-term promotion of regionally based China competence centers and networks makes it possible to secure and further develop what has been achieved in the long term and is thus a strategic investment in Germany's sovereignty, confidence in its actions, and capacity for innovation.

1. A national China competence network requires regional hubs
The planned nationwide China competence network is urgently needed, but it cannot function centrally and exclusively: it needs regional China competence centers as its operational backbone in order to feed in knowledge from local practice, identify needs, and make national guidelines feasible in the federal system. Without them, a national network remains abstract, top-down, and ineffective.

2. Mediating role between science, administration, and politics
Regional centers translate national guidelines and specifications into university and research practice while also providing reality checks to the federal and state governments. They are thus a central component of coherent science strategies, which can only be effective if they realistically incorporate operational experience from the diverse university landscape and the practical requirements of everyday research.

3. Regional expertise enables tailored, practical consultation
Regional research and economic profiles (e.g., marine research in the north, start-up ecosystems in Berlin, small and medium-sized enterprises in the southwest) place different demands on consultation and awareness-raising when dealing with China. Regional centers reflect these specifics and offer tailored support instead of generic advice that ignores local realities.

4. Necessary strengthening of independent China expertise
Without permanent structures, the science system is dependent on external China expertise and is thus influenced by the political or economic interests of other actors. Permanently funded regional centers enable sustainable personnel development and institutional expertise—a core element of the government's goal of “independent China expertise.”

Without continuity, there is a risk of losing qualified personnel and institutional knowledge. Rebuilding later would be time-consuming and resource-intensive.

5. Regional institutions as trust-building bodies for increased knowledge security
Knowledge security and compliance are not an intuitive part of scientific socialization, which is based on openness, exchange, and international cooperation. They are often perceived as restrictions on academic freedom and as a bureaucratic burden. The willingness to address these increasingly important issues varies greatly among researchers.

In particular, the evaluation of sensitive research collaborations requires trusted relationships that are built through proximity, repeated contact, and long-term presence. Regional centers are familiar with regional actors and circumstances and are therefore able to provide needs-oriented and trustworthy risk analyses and consulting services. This significantly increases their acceptance.

6. Stable regional structures as the basis for strategic, future-oriented action
Strong regional networks and established structures of trust create the basis for developing strategies and approaches for dealing with China—including in areas such as knowledge security and technology transfer—proactively and in close consultation with researchers, rather than merely reacting to events. This promotes regional strengths and at the same time increases the overall resilience of the German science system.

7. Innovation through pilot projects with broad impact
Regional centers offer practical spaces for testing and evaluating processes, risk tools, and awareness-raising measures on a small scale before rolling them out more widely through interregional cooperation. This leads to genuine practical innovation, the results of which can also be incorporated into national instruments.

In addition, many of the approaches developed locally have the potential to be transferred to other country contexts. The regional China competence centers thus become important drivers for the coherent and responsible internationalization of the German science system.

8. Risks associated with the end of funding
Terminating funding at the end of the project in 2026 would likely have the following consequences:

• Loss of regional contact points and advisory services,
• Loss of established networks and expertise,
• Uneven regional distribution of knowledge,
• Increased dependence on external analysis capacities,
• Reduced federal connectivity of national and EU-wide initiatives in the field of knowledge security,
• Reduced depth of impact of the planned national network structure,
• Loss of practical feedback mechanisms necessary to adapt national strategies to operational realities and new risk situations,
• Weakening of independent China expertise in the scientific sector.

The dismantling of regional structures would have negative consequences for Germany's sovereignty, ability to act with confidence, and competitiveness. Rebuilding them later would be expensive and time-consuming. The consolidation of regional centers of expertise on China is an essential component of a forward-looking science and innovation policy.

Jana Brokate, Project Coordination
ChiKoN – China-Kompetence in the North

Philipp Dengel, Project Management
ChinaHub – Academic China Knowledge and Experience Network

Annika Feldhoff, ?Project Coordination
Yi Qi – Joint China Competence Saxony

Daniel H?ft, ?Project Coordination
ChinakomMitt – Competent Research, Teaching, and Work on China in Central Hesse – and Beyond

Merle Groneweg, ?Project Coordination
CCTC – China Competence Training Center

Dr. Isabelle Harbrecht, ?Project Coordination
CCTC – China Competence Training Center

Karolin Kollmorgen, ?Project Coordination
ChinaHub – Academic China Knowledge and Experience Network

Anastasia Kostromina, ?Project Coordination
KoWinChi – Competent Scientific Interaction with China

Prof. Dr. Angelika Messner, Project Management?
ChiKoN – China Competence in the North

Dr. Helena Obendiek, ?Project Coordination
ChiKoBo – China Competence Center Lake Constance

Yannick Ringot, ?Project Coordination
HNC? – Hamburg Network on Compliance in Cooperation with China

Linus Schlüter, ?Project Coordination
ChinaKoop – China Competence Platform for Universities and Research Institutions in Thuringia

Benjamin Schreiber, ?Project Coordination
Yi Qi – Joint China Competence Saxony

René Seyfarth, Project Management
ENTRANCE – Expertise & Transfer Network on China & Europe

Dr. Susanne Stein, ?Project Coordination
C-NET RNR – China Competence Network for the Ruhr Lower Rhine Science Location

Prof. Dr. Gabriele Thelen, Project Management
ChiKoBo – ?China Competence Center Lake Constance

Sabine Weber, ?Project Coordination
KoWinChi – Competent Scientific Interaction with China

To the position paper as PDFpdf,?171?kb?·?de?