In this paper we examine three events that helped connect China with the emergence of global earth science in the recent past: the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957-1958,Chinese participation in Antarctic research during and after the 1980s,and its reactions to global climate change since the 1980s,with accompanying international technological exchanges.These events illustrated Chinese contributions to the formation of global earth science,the impact of the latter on Chinese science and technology policy in return,and the central role of politics—both international and domestic—in Chinese participation in that process.