Spring Quarter 2022

Dear UC San Diego,

First off, the center and China Data Lab are happy to welcome Patrick Chester as a postdoctoral researcher for the next academic year. He is currently finishing his Ph.D. in political science at New York University.

We had a robust quarter of research this winter. Our affiliated scholars, both resident and non-resident, contributed seven working and accepted papers uploaded on our SSRN page. 

Our China Data Lab researchers have been hard at work on several projects and released research-based blog posts, including a new series on Congress and China on social media.

Our engagement in policy discussions and public outreach remained strong. On the policy front, the Task Force on U.S.-China Policy met in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to discuss China’s response and the implications for U.S.-China relations. Several members of the Task Force signed a short statement urging vigorous and hardheaded diplomacy with China on Ukraine. 

Between public lectures and research workshops on China, we maintained a steady weekly schedule that covered topics ranging from COVID conspiracies on Weibo to the political economy of the Belt and Road Initiative, including a well-attended seminar on China’s role in the Ukraine conflict. 

We continue to collaborate with other research units on campus. In spring, we will cosponsor a conference on Taiwan by the new Center on Taiwan Studies at UC San Diego. Over the summer, we will work with the Fudan-UC Center on Contemporary China to host early career scholars and established scholars alike for a two-day conference on the cutting edge of opinion survey research in China. We will then close the month of July with our fourth UC San Diego Forum on U.S.-China Relations, convening leading thinkers and policymakers to assess new geopolitical alignments and implications for U.S. policy toward China in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Looking to the coming quarter, we have a fantastic lineup of public lectures. We are returning, slowly and carefully, to more in-person or hybrid public events. Our spring series will cover topics ranging from the rise and fall of imperial China to China’s low-carbon transition. For those who are looking for cultural events, we are pleased to start a new Chou Wen-chung Distinguished Lecture series on Chinese culture. The first lecture in 2022, in collaboration with Professor Lei Liang of the Music Department, will feature a performance and public talk on Chinese art and music.

See below and be sure to register today to put them on your calendar. Academic researchers interested in our Friday research workshops are welcome to contact us or sign up at the link in the Quick Links section below. 

We encourage you to also check the China 360° bulletin, China Data Lab and China Focus blog posts. We look forward to seeing you on Zoom and hopefully being with you in person soon!

With warm regards,

Susan Shirk, Chair, 21st Century China Center; and

Lei Guang, Executive Director, 21st Century China Center

Beijing's Influence in the U.S. (Webinar)

March 31, 2022 at 1 p.m. PDT | Register

Join Isaac Stone Fish, CEO of Strategy Risks and a contributing columnist to The Washington Post, as he discusses the negative aspects of Beijing's influence in the U.S. and how to fight back without being McCarthyist or encouraging racism.

Rebalancing Amid COVID, Regulations and Climate Goals (Webinar)

April 7, 2022 at 1 p.m. PDT | Register

Join our faculty and authors of the 2021 International Monetary Fund (IMF) China Staff report for a deep dive into China’s economic moves in 2021 and what they mean going forward.

Public Scrutiny and Environmental Governance in China (Hybrid)

April 14, 2022 at 4 p.m. PDT | Register: In-Person | Register: Zoom  

Iza Ding from University of Pittsburgh examines how street-level bureaucrats in China use “performative governance” to impress a skeptical society. Based on ethnographic research alongside wide-ranging surveys, her research also explains why performative governance sometimes fails and when governance becomes less performative and more substantive.

Pathways to Globalization in China, India and Russia (Hybrid)

April 21, 2022 at 4 p.m. PDT | Register: In-Person | Register: Zoom  

Based on her new book, Roselyn Hsueh from Temple University will demonstrate how sectoral organizations in China, Russia and India help explain differences in market coordination and property rights arrangements in the three countries.

Chinese Soft Power Around the World (Webinar)

April 28, 2022 at 1 p.m. PDT | Register

Maria Repnikova from Georgia State University examines China’s complex and often contradictory deployment of soft power performance. She will dissect various projects and once-ambitious Chinese initiatives that have received mixed receptions. Through numerous examples, she will illustrate the ambitious and adaptive initiatives and examine the reactions and contestations they elicit.

The Rise and Fall of Imperial China (Hybrid)

May 4, 2022 at 1 p.m. PDT | Register: In-Person | Register: Zoom  

Yuhua Wang from Harvard University will discuss his new book “The Rise and Fall of Imperial China,” which offers a systematic look at the Chinese state from the seventh century through to the twentieth.

Coalitions of the Weak (Hybrid)

May 5, 2022 at 5 p.m. PDT | Register: In-Person | Register: Zoom  

Victor Shih will discuss his new book, which investigates how leaders of one-party autocracies seek to dominate the elite and achieve true dictatorship, governing without fear of internal challenge or resistance to major policy changes.       

Chou Wen-chung Distinguished Lecture on Chinese Culture

Sounds and Images: Rediscovering Chinese Art via Music (In-Person)

May 17, 2022 from 4-6 p.m. PDT | Save the date

Lei Liang presents his work on Chinese landscape paintings at the Qualcomm Institute, followed by a lecture by ethnomusicologist Joseph Lam from the University of Michigan. 

An Alternative World Order (Webinar)

May 19, 2022 at 1 p.m. PDT | Register

Dawn Murphy from the U.S. Air War College will present findings from her new book in which she compares and analyzes 30 years of China’s interactions with the Middle East and Africa regions across a range of functional areas, including politics, economics, foreign aid and the military. 

Missionary Cameras and Modern China in Global Imaginations (Hybrid)

May 26, 2022 at 4 p.m. PDT | Register: In-Person | Register: Zoom 

UC San Diego alum Joseph W. Ho from Albion College will share stories from his new book “Developing Mission,” which offers a transnational cultural history of U.S. and Chinese communities framed by missionary lenses through time and space – tracing the lives and afterlives of images, cameras and visual imaginations in modern China. 

Low-Carbon Transition Challenges of Chinese SOEs (Webinar)

June 2, 2022 at 1 p.m. PDT | Register

Based on his new working paper on China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs), Michael Davidson from UC San Diego will discuss the finances, assets and employment structure of coal businesses in major SOEs and identify pain points that will be faced as they engage in more detailed low-carbon transition planning.

Data visualizations on wide-ranging topics in Chinese politics and political economy are featured on our China Data Lab blog.

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.

Listen and subscribe to the China 21 Podcast.

For students, faculty and others interested in new academic research, sign up for upcoming China Research Workshops.

Support – The 21st Century China Center receives support from philanthropists, alumni, community members, foundations and institutional partners and welcomes tax-deductible donations to support our mission.

21st Century China Center, School of Global Policy and Strategy

This email was sent to friends registered for news & events updates.