Translators Under State Influence: An Analysis of the Chinese Academic Translation Project Through the Lens of Translation Policy

This study examines how state-mandated translation policies shape the identities of translators in China’s Academic Translation Project (CATP), a state-sponsored initiative aimed at globalizing Chinese academic scholarship. Employing a document-based qualitative research design, the study analyzes translation policy documents and biographical data of translators, including gender, age, academic qualifications, and institutional affiliations. Findings reveal that translators are primarily elite academics: over 90% hold PhD degrees, and more than half are affiliated with China’s top-tier “985/211” universities. Women slightly outnumber men, and most translators fall within the 35–55 age range. Nearly 60% of translations target English. While translators function as linguistic and cultural intermediaries, their agency is constrained by policies governing text selection, terminology, and thematic focus, reducing their role to state-regulated “organic intellectuals” who balance scholarly legitimacy with ideological compliance. By foregrounding their multiple roles, the research enriches debates on translation’s instrumentality in authoritarian contexts through translation policy, where translators simultaneously enable cross-cultural dialogue and reinforce state ideologies.