Meteorology has long been regarded as one of the earliest examples of scientific internationalism. From the establishment of the International Meteorological Organization (IMO) to its successor, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the sharing of international data has been central to its activities. However, during the early years following the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), meteorological intelligence remained strictly classified and was transmitted as highly confidential information. This situation underwent a significant shift in 1956 when meteorological reports began to be broadcast openly in plain text, with some data being partially shared internationally. According to archival materials from diplomatic departments, this transformation was influenced not only by geopolitical factors but also by intense domestic debates among various groups representing different sectors, including scientists and military officials. This paper aims to examine the science diplomacy factors that contributed to this shift between 1949 and 1956, as well as the epistemological changes in the perception of meteorological data that underpinned this transition.

Data exchange is a crucial aspect of scientific communication and collaboration, shaped by diplomacy and reflecting the interaction between geopolitics and scientific progress. This study aims to explore the transnational flow of data knowledge, skills, and content by analyzing China’s data exchange activities in the geosciences from the 1950s to the 1980s, and examining how these processes influenced the development of geoscientific data in China.

In 1957, due to political reasons, China withdrew from the International Geophysical Year (IGY), which led to its restriction from accessing IGY data collected by other countries. To meet research needs, institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) actively engaged in both informal and official diplomatic negotiations to facilitate data exchange.

In the 1980s, China joined two key data organizations under the International Council for Science (ICSU): the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) and the World Data Center (WDC) system. Within the WDC system, China served as a host country, taking on the responsibility of establishing the "WDC-D" data center. This marked a stark contrast to China’s position during the IGY period in terms of data exchange.

To explore the complex interactions involved in China’s geoscientific data exchange activities from the 1950s to the 1980s, this study draws on a wide range of Chinese and international sources, including institutional archives, personal papers of scientists, and publications.

In 1980, China test-fired its first intercontinental ballistic missile, the DF-5, into the South Pacific, marking a historic moment in nuclear diplomacy. This project was more than just one action of the aerospace system; it relied on multiple systems, including measurement and control, communication, hydrometeorology, ship salvaging, navigation and positioning, and so on. Timekeeping, which was crucial for the test-firing results, was one of the components in developing an ocean-going communication network. Using a large number of scientific archives as well as national defense and diplomatic materials, this article examines in detail the project’s construction of the ocean-going time-service system, revealing how the development of cutting-edge technology in the 1970s dealt with political tensions, insufficient funds, and the lack of precision equipment and special metals, which further deepened the understanding of the participation of infrastructure in science diplomacy in the later stage of the Cold War. On the other hand, the Shaanxi Astronomical Observatory expanded its BPM standard frequency transmission station to create the ocean-going timing system, subsequently reshaping the timing infrastructure during the “Two Bombs, One Satellite” mission, which revealed the unique approach to contemporary China in building science infrastructure.

Positioning China as a node in a scientific network, this paper uncovers the dynamics of transnational antibiotic technology exchange in the socialist bloc and the third world during the Cold War. It contributes to two areas of inquiry. First, this paper highlights an overlooked biotechnology network that developed outside of the capitalist world, broadening our landscape of scientific diplomacy. By analyzing interactions among China, the Soviet Union, North Korea, and Romania, it reveals a dynamic exchange of materials, personnel, knowledge, and information, characterized by shifting power dynamics. This network operated in a context without patent systems and with industries dominated by the states, fostering unique modes of exchange shaped by shared assumptions and anxieties. This network constitutes an integral part in shaping the contemporary landscape of biotechnology and pharmaceutical production. Second, I explore the invention of new institutional tools for information management within China, offering insights into how scientific diplomacy shaped the evolving socialist governmentality in the Cold War era. To sustain transnational exchanges, information generated in and for these exchanges was systematically documented, distributed, archived, and constantly retrieved. Such information permeated a domestic industrial-bureaucratic network, each part of which was both shaping and transformed by transnational exchanges. In this process, interpersonal communications, as well as personal emotions, sensations, and memories became part of this collectively owned information repertoire. In this sense, transnational exchanges redefined the domestic boundaries between individuals and the state.