Uphold the Original Intention and Work together for Future Development — Speech at the 35^th Anniversary Symposium of BES

In 1988, Professor Chunming Chen, the former President of the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine (CAPM), and the founding editor-in-chief of BES, established the BES with remarkable foresight and insight. As a witness and participant in this history, I remember vividly that the original intention of the founding of BES was to promote China’s excellent scientific research achievements to the international stage. At that time, there were few English academic journals in China, and due to language barriers, domestic scientific research achievements were mostly unknown to the international academic community. Professor Chen recognized the necessity of establishing a high-quality English journal to promote China’s excellent scientific research achievements to the world. Therefore, the original intention of the founding was to promote communication and cooperation between the Chinese and foreign academic communities in the context of reform and opening up at that time, laying the foundation for Chinese experts and scholars to engage in communication and show-up, while also improving research capacity in related fields in China.

The determination of the journal title “BES (Biomedical and Environmental Sciences)” is closely related to the multidiscipline layout of the CAPM. Although the primarily focus of research at the CAPM was on public health at that time, it also included both basic and clinical research. Therefore, the term “Biomedical” was used. Combining the business scope and responsibilities of the CAPM itself, the term “Environmental Sciences” was also used, aiming to provide a comprehensive coverage of research related to population health. Professor Chen’s has diverse academic interests; she is not only a nutritionist but also the head of the National Expert Committee on AIDS. Her broad academic perspective determines that BES is an inclusive academic journal rather than limited to a specific professional field.

Today, China has entered a new era of development. Compared to the 1980s, the quantity and quality of scientific research achievements in China have experienced rapid growth and improvement. The depth and breadth of international exchange and cooperation have also greatly expanded. BES has emerged as a comprehensive academic journal covering multiple professional fields, and has gradually become an important platform for academic exchanges both domestically and internationally. As we remember the huge contributions made by Professor Chunming Chen in the field of public health science communication and international academic exchanges, we should also remember the original intentions of BES at its inception. Today, it is clear that Professor Chen not only had foresight but that the original intentions remain relevant. This is also the direction for the future development of BES. I sincerely hope that BES will continue to adhere to its original intentions and make progress in the future.

Looking back, we should also recognize that the development of BES today is facing new situations and challenges.

Currently, the development of comprehensive academic journals faces significant challenges, but also possesses unique advantages and opportunities. In particular, after 22 years of renaming the CAPM as the China CDC, reattaching the name of the CAPM to the China CDC undoubtedly strengthens the institutional research attributes, providing a rare opportunity for the development of the comprehensive academic journal BES.

Today, researchers are striving to publish their research findings in journals with higher impact factors. Although BES’s impact factor is 3.5, placing it in the Q2 zone of the JCR’s classification of “Public Health, Environmental Health, and Occupational Health”, it still cannot meet the expectations of a large number of researchers, especially young and mid-career experts and scholars, who aspire to publish in more renowned and higher-impact international journals. This is the significant challenge that BES faces in its development.

How to seize development opportunities and effectively address challenges? I have several personal suggestions for your consideration.

First, strengthen the construction of the editorial board. For BES to advance to a higher level and become a respective international journal, the editorial board must also be internationalized. I recalled that the initial editorial board of its establishment was highly international, and played an important role in helping us in many aspects such as how to establish a good English academic journal, attract foreign scholars to submit manuscripts, etc. Now, BES already has good dissemination and influence, but to strive for higher-level development, it still needs the support and assistance of an internationalized editorial team. We should extend invitations to foreign experts and scholars with high international academic influence, who have a certain cooperation foundation in domestic research fields, and are also willing to contribute their wisdom to the development of BES to join the editorial board.

Second, enhance leadership attention and improve leadership. Director Hongbing and Deputy Director Xiaoming are both attending today’s symposium, which fully demonstrates the high level of attention that the leadership of the China CDC pays to the development of BES. I sincerely hope that the two leaders can fully exert their leadership and guide the center’s researchers, more experts and scholars outside the center to submit their high-quality research articles to BES. Only with everyone’s mutual support and efforts can BES be built into an academic journal in the field of preventive medicine and public health in China with high international influence.

Third, strengthen cooperation and communication with relevant domestic and international organizations to expand the dissemination channels and influence of BES. For example, in alignment with the “Healthy China” initiative, collaborate with the National Health Commission, China CDC, and focus on current public health issues of national concern to publish organized key articles and series on hot and challenging topics for in-depth exploration and exchange.

Finally, as a participant in the founding of BES and a long-time supporter, I want to express my gratitude to all the leaders and colleagues who have worked tirelessly for the development of BES. I am willing to continue to uphold the original intention of publishing, constantly driving innovation and development, and collaborating with everyone in the days to come to do a good job at BES from multiple perspectives comprehensively. I hope that BES will publish more high quality research achievements and provide better services for the academic community and readers. I sincerely wish for the continuous improvement of BES.