21st Century China Center Spring 2017 Newsletter

April 13, 2017

We are pleased to announce the 21st Century China Center recently was awarded a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation for the establishment of the China Data Lab. The center will receive a $500,000 three-year grant starting in September that will allow us to hire a postdoctoral fellow and research assistants, and support data integration on pioneering social science research on China by center scholars and academic collaborators from China and elsewhere. The grant also will add capacity for data visualization, annual conferences and workshops on China and data science.

This past quarter we held many high-caliber events. The Task Force on U.S.-China Policy, led by Susan Shirk and Orville Schell from the Asia Society, produced and launched on both the East and West Coasts a bipartisan report comprising U.S-China policy recommendations for the new administration. In addition to its San Diego event, the task force also briefed the Trump administration, as well as congressional and diplomatic leaders in Washington, D.C., and New York City. On March 7, Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky delivered our Fifth Annual Robert F. Ellsworth Memorial Lecture on the challenges facing U.S.-China trade and investment. We also hosted other interesting events, ranging from U.S.-China cross-cultural comedy, to Hong Kong cinema, and the history and future of Chinese computing. Our event partners included student organizations, other academic departments and the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum.

With spring quarter underway, we have planned a mix of public talks by academics and industry experts on topics such as Chinese banking, China's business environment, politics in the labor market and migration. In addition, our China Research Workshop series will continue to showcase new academic research. Spring is also the time to host our regular Young Scholars Conference. Since it started in 2014, the annual conference has become a premier forum for rising young stars in the field of China studies in social science to share their research. We received a record number of 105 proposals, out of which we have selected 18 to present at the conference on May 19 and 20.

For scholars even younger in age, we are in the midst of recruiting high school students from the U.S. and China for our summer camp, U.S.-China Future Leaders Summer Program (July 16 - Aug. 5). It is a unique simulation-based program that fosters global problem-solving and tackles real-world challenges such as artificial intelligence and climate change--topics that will define U.S.-China collaboration this year and beyond. If you have kin in high school or know of a high school student interested in international affairs and U.S.-China relations, please recommend them to us.

To stay up to date on our upcoming events, visit our website and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and WeChat as "复旦UC" (ID: Fudan-UC-21CC). And be sure to tune in to our podcast, China 21!

Warmest regards,

Susan Shirk

Chair, 21st Century China Center

Lei Guang

Director, 21st Century China Center

Assembling the Task Force on U.S.-China Policy

The center teamed up with Asia Society to create a Task Force on U.S.-China Policy, which in February 2017 made its first order of business publishing a bipartisan report. Follow how it went viral from the East to West Coasts. Read more >>

China Data Lab is hiring a postdoctoral fellow

With the establishment of the new China Data Lab at the center, we are looking for interested applicants with background in computer science and China studies to apply online for the postdoctoral fellow position. Read more >>

Richard Madsen

Richard Madsen's research focuses on religion and morality in Chinese culture. Last October, he gave keynote lectures at conferences in Taiwan and Hong Kong on humanistic Buddhism, and in New York and Hong Kong on Chinese Christianity. In January, he gave a series of lectures on sociological theories on religion and culture at Harbin Engineering University in China and the University of Navarra in Spain. In March, he presented papers in Manila, Singapore, and Nanchang, China, on the different ways Catholicism has evolved in the social, economic and political contexts of Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. In May, he will give a talk at the Vatican on Chinese religions. He is currently working on a book on conceptions of happiness in China today. View bio >>

"Barbarians at the Gate: Corporate Takeovers & the Rise of Shadow Banking"

April 25, 2017 | Register
Veteran journalist WANG Shuo and managing editor of Caixin will chronicle a hostile corporate takeover war of Vanke, the largest property developer in China, that sent waves of deep shock to the entire capital market and opened eyes for those who had thought they already understood everything about the dynamics of China's financial industry.

"Phantom Services: Deflecting Migrant Workers in China"

May 4, 2017 | Register
UC Berkeley Professor Kevin O'Brien will describe how "phantom services" are politically appealing at a time when the central government is calling for greater benefits for nonlocals and urging people to move to small cities while migrants continue to appear in large numbers in the biggest, most desirable cities.

"China's Business Environment"

May 9, 2017 | Save the date

Alan Beebe, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, will discuss the annual China Business Climate Survey. This report asks how members from more than 900 firms are adapting to slower economic growth, a rapidly changing regulatory and enforcement system in China and political transitions in both countries.

"China's Ideological Spectrum"

May 25, 2017 | Register

Using data from large-scale surveys in China, Jennifer Pan of Stanford University will share her findings that public preferences in ideology are not simply split along a pro-regime or anti-regime divide in authoritarian contexts.

Kevin O'Brien

Kevin O'Brien is the Alann P. Bedford Professor of Asian Studies and professor of political science at UC Berkeley. He also is the director of Berkeley's Institute of East Asian Studies and the Walter and Elise Haas Professor of Asian Studies. He has published widely on topics such as legislative politics, local elections, fieldwork strategies, popular protest, policy implementation, protest policing and village-level political reform. View bio >>

Jennifer Pan

Jennifer Pan is an assistant professor of communication at Stanford University. Her research examines the strategies authoritarian regimes employ to perpetuate their rule, including censorship, redistribution and responsiveness using large-scale data from traditional and digital media as well as experiments on media platforms. Pan was a consultant at McKinsey & Co. in New York and Beijing. She has also worked for the Chinese Center for Disease Control, the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative and the Clinton Global Initiative. View bio >>

China Focus

China Focus is an online magazine dedicated to providing depth and context for understanding China and U.S.-China relations. It is run by GPS students with the support of the center. Read more >>

China Research Workshops
This interdisciplinary workshop series features new academic research by UC San Diego scholars and visiting researchers. Lunch is provided to registered attendees. View workshops >>

China 21 Podcast
Listen to our latest episodes, and subscribe for updates on iTunes & Google Play:

Support

Starting with their angel investment in 2012, our founders have remained supporting pillars of the center. Beginning in 2016, a new group of members, called the 21st Century China Center Leadership Circle, joined the founders in generously supporting the center activities. The center also welcomes gifts from alumni, community members and corporate partners. Learn more >>

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