ABOUT

CHERN – the China in Europe Research Network – is a platform for knowledge exchange about China’s increasing presence in Europe among academic and non-academic communities.

CHERN was originally an initiative of a group of researchers at the University of Bristol and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). From 2019 to 2024 it received funding from the European Cooperation in Science and Technology agency as a COST Action. The Action webpage on the COST website provides basic details about CHERN’s initial aims, objectives, milestones, and deliverables. Now, CHERN is transitioning into a standalone network.

Administered from the VU, CHERN is managed by a Steering Group led by Nana de Graaff (VU) as Chair and Jeffrey Henderson (Bristol) as Vice Chair. More than 300 members from more than 40 countries are involved in CHERN’s Working Groups. Among these are specialists in political economy, economics, sociology, business studies, political science, international relations, anthropology, history, cultural studies and policy studies. Finally, the CHERN community encompasses around 700 people who follow and participate in our activities.

How can I join?

CHERN welcomes the participation of social scientists and policy personnel who have interests in exploring aspects of the China-in-Europe phenomenon in the context of a Europe-wide, collaborative network. While a track record of research on China’s European involvements is desirable, those with interests in Chinese involvements in other parts of the world and who wish to use CHERN to help lever future research and knowledge acquisition on Europe, are also welcome. As part of CHERN’s remit is to encourage younger researchers, we particularly welcome the participation of ‘early career’ scholars and PhD students.

The main aims of CHERN are to:

be an inclusive platform or the exchange of research and knowledge on China’s economic, social and political engagements with Europe (including non-EU member states) in a context of increased polarization and conflict;
develop interdisciplinary, cross-regional and cross-sectoral understandings of the variation in Chinese engagements across Europe and their different social, economic, political and geopolitical implications from a pan-European perspective;
address and debate the policy and societal implications of these developments with relevant agencies from the EU and Member states, business, trade unions and other interested parties and generate relevant input for those stakeholders, as well as the media and general public;
stimulate further research and help to establish new research partnerships across Europe and beyond;
foster the career development of early career Investigators and doctoral students through networking, training, coaching and integration into ongoing research collaborations.

Why was CHERN established?

CHERN was established with the aim to pool existing knowledge and research on China in Europe which at the time was a fragmented landscape and tended to be discipline-specific and to focus on particular issues (economic, technical, social etc). Recognising that it is in the interaction between these various domains that the socio-economic, political and geopolitical impacts of China’s growing European presence poses the most difficult challenges, CHERN set itself the task to bring together researchers in academia and policy from across Europe to explore and develop interdisciplinary, integrated and over-arching conception of China’s deepening engagements.

How can I join?

Why was CHERN established?

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