The 2026 COPE China Seminar, jointly organized by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Society of China University Journals (CUJS), convened in Beijing on June 17, 2026, to address pressing issues in academic publishing, including AI governance, research misconduct prevention, and publication ethics standards. A key highlight was the presentation of 24hreview, a pre-submission integrity safeguard layer for publishers, which drew significant attention for its potential to transform ethics principles into industry infrastructure.
During the session titled "Ecosystem Panel: Research Integrity Practices in China," the case study "24hreview: A Pre-Submission Integrity Safeguard Layer for Publishers" outlined how the platform addresses structural gaps in the current system. COPE Chair Nancy Chescheir reaffirmed COPE's mission to uphold scholarly record integrity and praised innovative explorations by China's publishing community. The 24hreview initiative, born from a CUJS survey of 1,036 Chinese researchers, responds to a clear need: while only 19.64% of authors were familiar with COPE policies, 86.7% supported pre-submission checks, and 31.6% expected professional pre-submission screening from publishers.
The survey identified three critical gaps: late-stage screening (18.6%), limited capacity of individual journals (18.3%), and lack of shared mechanisms (16.1%). The case report emphasized that these are not failures of individual editors or publishers but systemic structural gaps requiring coordinated industry-wide solutions. 24hreview is designed as a front-end, standardized, and seamlessly integrated layer that works at the pre-submission stage, before a manuscript reaches the publisher. Its core features include standardized screening dimensions, integration with existing submission systems, and completion of checks within 24 hours, supporting publishing efficiency.
Launched in 2024 under CUJS, the platform first piloted with Wiley, a leading global publisher. The number of participating journals grew from an initial 8 to about 80, demonstrating straightforward implementation and smooth integration with publishers' workflows. The pilot confirmed that the model reliably verifies manuscript integrity at the pre-submission stage, strengthening integrity assurance across journals.
The seminar's multiple presentations converged on a common direction: addressing increasingly complex research integrity challenges requires transcending individual journal or publisher capacities and building a coordinated industry governance system. As noted in the case study, the 24hreview model provides a tangible response to COPE's vision by translating principles into implementable infrastructure. For more details, the original source is available at CUJS. The platform's website is 24hreview.cn, and further information on related innovations can be found at Chuanlink Innovations.
The implications of this announcement are significant for the global academic publishing community. By providing a standardized, shared pre-submission integrity layer, 24hreview could reduce the burden on individual journals, enhance the efficiency of ethical screening, and help prevent misconduct before it enters the publication workflow. As the pilot expands, it may set a precedent for industry-wide collaboration in publication ethics, potentially influencing how publishers and editors worldwide approach integrity checks.
