Understanding China’s rise in contemporary global science requires a fresh scholarly approach. In one of my current book projects, I take a critical look at the common portrayal of China’s science system as a normatively deviant and structurally monolithic national endeavor that is systematically directed by the party-state to follow a grand logic and global strategy. I argue for a different characterization of China’s ongoing scientific rise, the institutional setup that underlies it, and the even more complex and diverse elements that constitute China’s current role in world science. In this talk, I will first discuss methodological issues in studying “global science” and measuring the global impact of science and scholarship made in (and with) China. I will then present preliminary content from one of the book’s chapters, discussing how the country’s scientific endeavors, especially science policy ambitions, have gradually taken on a global perspective since the early 1980s. I complement this by highlighting some contemporary debates about China’s status and role in global science within the scientific community and society at large.