Policy-Research Nexus: The Case of Pacific Studies in China

China has substantially increased its engagement with Pacific Island countries since 2006, driving heightened geostrategic competition between traditional powers and China in the region. Research on Pacific Island countries by Chinese scholars has grown rapidly in recent years, but this development and its relationship with policy needs are little-known outside China. By analyzing the 129 journal articles published by Chinese scholars on Pacific studies between 2006–2019, with supporting interviews, this research aims to expand the debate on the policy-research nexus, especially in the Chinese context, by introducing Pacific studies in China. It argues that official policy needs have largely shaped Pacific studies in China, and that researchers who seek to influence policy-making tend to find the process slow and indirect. This research will also improve our understanding of Chinese scholars’ intellectual support of China’s Pacific diplomacy on certain topics.

政策–研究的关联性：以中国的太平洋研究为例

关键词：中国；太平洋岛国；太平洋研究； 政策-研究； 外交。

2006年以来，中国显著加强了与太平洋岛国之间的联系，这也使传统大国和中国在此地区的地缘战略竞争进一步加剧。近年来中国学者对太平洋岛国的研究迅猛增长，但是这一发展及其与政策需求之间的关系在中国之外却鲜为人知。通过对中国学者在2006至2019年期间就太平洋研究发表的129篇学术文章进行分析，辅以作者的采访，本研究旨在通过介绍中国的太平洋研究，拓展关于政策-研究的关联性、特别是在中国语境下的讨论。本文提出，官方的政策需求很大程度上塑造了中国对太平洋地区的学术研究，而那些寻求影响政府决策的研究者发现他们的影响缓慢并且间接。本研究也会增进我们对中国学者如何在中国对太平洋外交的某些议题上给予智识支持的理解。

Translated from English by Li Guo