Chinese are asking not just who wins the Nobel Prize, but who decides The Nobel Prize no longer holds the same cultural sway, especially among younger generations. Yet in China, the announcement of each year’s laureates continues to spark widespread interest. When this week’s winners were revealed, the topic quickly climbed to the top of social media trends. I know a scientist based in Beijing who learned that his American, European and Japanese peers had won the prize while he was riding in a sleek Chinese electric vehicle – comfortable, luxuriously equipped and using artificial intelligence to navigate city traffic with a high degree of autonomy. As the car glided smoothly through congested streets, he looked out the window at older-model vehicles from Western automakers – many still powered by fossil fuels. At that moment, he reflected: Chinese science still has ground to make up. We must keep striving. This is the surreal reality of the Nobel Prize in China. Despite the fact that, according to the Nature Index, China now leads the world in high-quality research output in fields such as chemistry, physics and materials science; despite its growing leadership in the green energy and artificial intelligence revolutions; despite its rapid deployment of advanced technologies – including laser defence systems, hypersonic glide vehicles, robotic systems for military use and AI systems akin to SkyNet; despite groundbreaking achievements in quantum science, carbon dioxide-to-starch synthesis, high-speed aerodynamics, superconductivity, ancient human genomics, deep-space exploration, crop gene editing and novel anti-cancer therapies – and despite four decades of unprecedented economic growth – no physicist, chemist or economist based in China has yet received a Nobel Prize. For many Chinese, this absence has long been seen as part of a broader historical narrative – one of delayed modernisation and scientific catch-up after a century of instability and foreign domination. The Nobel Prize, in this view, symbolises a standard of excellence that China has not yet fully attained, and thus serves as motivation to push further. But now, a shift is emerging. More ordinary Chinese citizens are beginning to question not just who wins the prize, but who decides. On social media and online forums, a growing number of people are asking: Why should the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences be the ultimate authority on humanity’s greatest scientific achievements? While these wise, white-haired scholars mostly from Scandinavia certainly deserve respect, have they ever ridden in a self-driving car? Studied lunar samples from the far side of the moon? Witnessed the once-deadly Gobi Desert now green with grass beneath vast solar arrays? Can they grasp the engineering behind building the world’s most powerful hydroelectric station on the Tibetan Plateau? Or truly fathom the meaning of lifting over 1 billion people out of poverty? Out of respect for science and international collaboration, Chinese society will likely continue to follow the Nobel announcements closely. But an ironic reality is becoming apparent: the more Nobels that the US, Europe and Japan win, the fewer Fords, Mercedes-Benzes and Toyotas they sell in China. Consumers are increasingly choosing domestic electric vehicles – and many other products – that represent China’s own technological advancement. This is not to diminish the value of the Nobel Prize. It remains one of the highest honours in science. But for many in China, it is no longer the sole measure of progress. The focus is shifting – from seeking recognition from the West to leading the next wave of global innovation. The goal is no longer just to win a prize, but to redefine what excellence looks like in the 21st century and beyond. #Science is awesome 🧬🦾🚀🤯 #ScholER #A Glance of China 行摄中国 https://www.nature.com/na..