The China in Europe Research Network has set out to facilitate the exchange among researchers, journalists, and policymakers. In this initiative, we identify significant events and provide the latter two groups with relevant insights from researchers from our network. We keep the briefings short and practical and leave it open to you whether you want to pursue a certain topic further on a one-on-one basis.

November 1, 11:00-11:45 CET
The event is aimed at journalists and policymakers
In this edition of the CHERN Online Briefing we conclude the cycle focused on Risks and Opportunities in Academic and Research Collaboration.
SPEAKERS:

Niels Kaffenberger
Niels Kaffenberger is a Scientific and Legal Officer at the German Aerospace Center (DLR e.V.) Project Management Agency based in Berlin. He is a German lawyer and has also a Magister (M.A.) in Sinology. He studied at Frankfurt University and Beijing University.
Previously, Niels worked as a lawyer at the German Aerospace Center, focusing on contract negotiations primarily in aerospace research projects and as an internal specialist for EU funding matters. Before joining the German Aerospace Center, he worked at a prominent Chinese financial institution and clerked at the German Embassy in Beijing. He is also responsible for the working group on Chinese legislation for German-Chinese science cooperation.

Guangyu Qiao-Franco
Guangyu Qiao-Franco is an Assistant Professor of International Relations at Radboud University and a Senior Researcher of a European Research Council-funded project AutoNorms that investigates international regulations surrounding military AI. She is currently working on articles on dual-use technologies-related export controls and China’s policymaking on AI and arms control. Guangyu actively promotes Track-Two dialogues between China and Europe in the area of emerging technologies and is a member of the European delegations to the Sino-Europe Cyber Dialogue and the Europe-China Expert Working Group on AI and International Security. She is also an active member of various AI related networks, including the Interdisciplinary Hub for Digitalization and Society of Radboud University, the Defense AI and Arms Control Network, and the Hague Program on International Cyber Security.

Ágota Révész
Ágota Révész work at the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam of the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, where she is Project manager for ASK (“Awareness, Security and Knowledge in International Collaboration”). Ágota is a sinologist with multiple years of experience in academia and diplomacy. Fluent in English, German, Chinese and Hungarian, she now conducts research on EU-China narratives, while also working on research security between Germany and China, as well as raising China competence among non-sinologists. Her teaching focuses on EU-China relations and intercultural competence with a focus on China.
https://www.gfz-potsdam.de/en/staff/agota.revesz/pi

Cong-rui Qiao
Dr. Qiao Cong-rui is the Founder and Director of Law4Sustainability, a research initiative focused on culturally sensitive ESG regulation and compliance. Holding a PhD in International and European Law from Utrecht University (2018), she brings over a decade of expertise in integrating legal, policy and governance sustainability frameworks globally.
In 2023, Cong-rui co-founded the Fair Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative, delivering evidence-based advisory reports for policymakers and business leaders in emerging sectors such as AI, electric vehicles, and energy transition. She also contributes to policy advisory projects, including acting as a core researcher on sustainable academic partnerships between the EU and China for the China Knowledge Network (2024).
With over 20 peer-reviewed publications in human rights, labour protection, and corporate social responsibility, her work focuses on the Global South. In 2024, her book Chinese Rules and Procedures for Addressing Mass Actions: A Juridification Account was published by Springer Nature, offering critical insights into Chinese State-society and government-citizen dynamics.
A BKO-certified educator by VU Amsterdam (2023), Dr. Qiao integrates her research into teaching and mentoring future academic and business professionals, while promoting equitable ESG frameworks through cross-cultural collaboration with academia and industry.
Moderator: Jelena Gledić
Jelena Gledić is Senior Instructor at the University of Belgrade where she teaches a range of undergraduate courses in the field of Chinese language and culture at the Faculty of Philology. She is also CHERN’s Science Communication Coordinator, and has held a cross-appointment at Osaka University’s Graduate School of Language and Culture as Specially Appointed Associate Professor. Her recent research has mainly been focused on the Chinese presence in the Western Balkans. In addition to her research on China, she has been active in the field of teaching and learning innovation, doing extensive fieldwork at universities in the US, UK, China and Japan, and working as project assistant at the University of Zurich’s Language and Space Lab.