China has released its first English-language blue book on e-science, a type of highly digitalized scientific research that uses large-scale computing infrastructure, big data and other cutting-edge information technologies.

This guidebook will serve as an authoritative source for foreign scholars to systematically peer into China's e-science development, its latest results, and find new grounds for international collaboration, scientists said on Wednesday. 

The blue book is divided into three major chapters, namely frontier research in science and technology, progress of e-science in major projects, and applications in interdisciplinary fields. 

It features case studies on the impact of e-science on China's major scientific undertakings, such as China's Five Hundred Meter Aperture Spherical telescope, dark matter particle explorer satellite Wukong, manned deep-sea submersible Jiaolong, and the Beidou Navigation Satellite System. 

"The informationization of scientific research is closely related to a country's breakthrough in core technologies, and is a priority in an increasingly digitalized world," said Yang Xiaowei, the deputy director of the Cyberspace Administration of China. 

Meng Qinghai, the vice-president of the China Association for Science and Technology, said the informationization of scientific research can help promote sharing and exchanges of scientific resources, which are important for innovations.
Li Shushen, the vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the academy will collaborate with others to facilitate the integration of information technologies and scientific innovations. 

The blue book was released during the fifth China Symposium on e-Science Development, a high-level academic event to discuss the strategy and frontiers of scientific research informationization. The symposium runs from Wednesday to Thursday. 

The book is jointly edited by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Cyberspace Administration of China, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. 

It was co-published by China Publishing House of Electronic Industry & Media Group, Publishing House of Electronics Industry and Springer Nature. (chinadaily.com.cn)