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Dear CHERN members,
we are excited to start a new year filled with inspiring research and thought-provoking exchanges! We are also pleased to inform you that one of our Working Groups has evolved - WG4 has been restructured to focus on the broad spectrum of public diplomacy and knowledge production, examining the complex and rapidly changing presence of China in culture, in the media, in our teaching and research.
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Working Group 4 is now led by CHERN member Dr. Agota Revesz (Center for Cultural Studies on Science and Technology in China, Technical University Berlin), who writes this month's editorial:
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Our newly created working group in CHERN is WG4, devoted to public diplomacy and knowledge production. We are focusing on the presence of China in culture, in the media, in our teaching and research – on a Chinese presence that has changed considerably.
Just a decade ago the EU was part of a very different international scene. Globalization was well under way with US leadership, and Europe was just starting to realize that a rising China might not walk the path the Western worlds was hoping for. Yet, we seemed to have time to give things thorough consideration. In the past ten years, however, China has shifted to a lot more assertive foreign policy, and been less hesitant to engage in a rivalry with the US. This historic change has been greatly accelerated by the political instability of the US and the global Coronavirus crisis. The EU finds itself in a difficult position having to react to a major power shift in the world while struggling to keep its unity.
The rapid changes have opened the gates to much uncertainty even among people who, like myself, have been closely watching China for decades, and have been working on communication with and about China. We need to re-structure, re-evaluate, re-purpose our knowledge. During the recent years the discourse on China has grown increasingly emotional, due to the pressure that we all feel, but experience differently. This is why we within CHERN find it very timely to offer a platform of exchange to our peers. In order to assess the processes in and with China and, desirably, help EU leaders make informed decisions, we need to share our perspectives and have a contextual understanding of the complexities and multi-facets of the current situation.
There are two crucial aspects for the working group WG 4. 1) We try to use the exchange to gain a more grounded view of changes in China and their implications for Europe, to get beyond the simplistic “good or bad” dichotomy, as it cannot possibly shape long-term policies. 2) We are more than happy to welcome researchers who work on China outside the frames of sinology. It is getting very important to discuss the presence of China in a most interdisciplinary manner – as China itself is not a discipline. Researchers working in the areas of e.g. media, cultural exchange, higher education policies and social sciences more broadly could contribute significantly to WG4.
We are planning an online workshop in mid-March focusing on Chinese soft power in context (with a brief look into Chinese international relations theories), then a second one later this year on research and science diplomacy. In the meantime we will have monthly in-group discussions on selected topics. As China’s presence in our focus areas – public diplomacy and knowledge production – can be highly contested and offers space for different interpretations, we expect discussions within the group, with the belief that conversations or even debates are necessary and beneficial. We also wish to be efficient and produce output that reaches beyond the confines of „China professionals”.
To close on an optimistic note: now that online conferencing has become our new normal, I do look forward to regular and fruitful exchanges among peers from all over Europe and beyond!
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Adapting to the new way of meeting and enhancing ideas during the global pandemic, in January 2021 CHERN launched its Online Series:
- CHERN Distinguished Lectures on Global China – inviting leading global experts to share their insights relevant for research on China in Europe
- CHERN China-Europe Research Highlights – showcasing the latest developments in our members’ research projects
- CHERN research and communication skills workshops – presenting learning opportunities for our members’ (and the wider public)
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US-China Rivalry in Historical, Comparative and European Contexts
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On January 28th, the CHERN Online Series was kicked off with a lecture by Prof. Ho-fung Hung, Henry M. and Elizabeth P. Wiesenfeld Professor of Political Economy at Johns Hopkins University and CHERN MC Observer Member. CHERN's Vice Chair Prof. Jeffrey Henderson was the discussant, while CHERN Chair Dr Nana de Graaff moderated the event.
The lecture was attended by more than 100 participants and it inspired a range of thought provoking questions from the audience. See more details about the event and a recording of the lecture on the link below.
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February 25th - Effectively Communicating Your China Research
Enhance your science communication skills by learning how to present your research more effectively to different audiences in this workshop held by CHERN’s Science Communication Manager Jelena Gledić (University of Belgrade).
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CHERN Working Group Activities
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WG 1 workshop "Chinese investment in Europe: Entering an uncharted territory?"
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Working Group 1 (Strategic sectors and infrastructure development) organized a thematic workshop titled "Chinese investment in Europe: Entering an uncharted territory?" on 14th December 2020, 10.00 (CET). The Zoom-event was co-organized by the Centre for Economic and Regional Studies (CERS), Hungary and University College Cork, Ireland.
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WG 2 webinar series on “high technology and innovation”
Working Group 2 (High-technology and innovation) continues to hold its monthly webinar series. In December 2020, Jan-Peter Kleinhans of “Stiftung Neue Verantwortung” in Berlin presented his latest work on China’s and Taiwan’s role in global semi-conductor supply chains and implications for the EU’s goal of achieving open strategic autonomy/technological sovereignty.
If you are interested in joining the webinar series, please send an email to tim.ruhlig@ui.se! In 2021, the WG plans to hold physical meetings again once the pandemic situation allows to do so. The activities will focus on China’s digital power and its implications for the EU, foreign direct investment and green innovation as well as methodological issues around new technologies such as AI.
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WG 3 upcoming webinars
Working Group 3 (Financial investments, real estate and services) is organizing two webinars in the near future:
Uneven and combined (state) capitalism Date: to be announced Speakers: Ilias Alami and Adam Dixon (Maastricht University)
Chinese financial infrastructures along the Belt and Road Date: to be announced Speaker: Johannes Petry (SCRIPTS Berlin)
Keep an eye on our LinkedIn page or our website for the latest updates.
WG3 also welcomes new members - anyone interested should contact nicholas.jepson@manchester.ac.uk.
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WG 4 upcoming workshop
Working group 4 (Public diplomacy and knowledge production) is preparing a two-day online workshop to take place in March:
Chinese soft power in context Date: to be announced Speakers: Richard Turcsanyi (Palacky University Olomouc, Czech Republic), Duncan Freeman (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium), Naná de Graaff (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands), Jelena Gledić (University of Belgrade, Serbia),Agota Revesz (Technische Universität Berlin), and Magnus Feldman (University of Bristol, United Kingdom).
Keep an eye on our LinkedIn page or our website for the latest updates.
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WG 5 members' new publication
Several members of WG 5 (Labour and Migration) contributed to the open-access online publication edited by Chuang Ya-Han and Anne-Christine Trémon on social and spatial change involving the Chinese in France. It charts a range of new developments from the political activism of second-generation French Chinese to the suburbanisation of Chinese wholesale clusters that are broadly relevant for Europe. You can find the link to the publication below and in the list of publications by CHERN members below.
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More than 1000 visitors from 6 continents check out the new CHERN website
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In December 2020, CHERN launched its updated website - https://china-in-europe.net/
In the first week only, our new website was visited by more than 200 new users, and to this date that number has gone to more than 1000. Most of our visitors come from Europe – the Netherlands, Germany, and the UK leading in numbers. However, our COST Action has also attracted global interest, with visitors from more than 50 countries on 6 continents.
The website documents CHERN’s development from the start of the Action in November 2019, through the numerous activities of the Working Groups, to the recently launched Online Series of distinguished lectures, research highlights and skills workshops.
We hope to provide even more engaging content in the coming year, making our website an online meeting place for all those interested in research on China in Europe.
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Recent publications by CHERN members
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Bofulin, M. (2020) Kitajski migranti in covid-19: mobilnost in izključevanje med pandemijo [Chinese migrants and Covid-19: mobility and exclusion during the pandemic], Dve domovini/ Two Homelands, 52, 95-111. Ceccagno, A. and D. Sacchetto (2020) The Mobility of Workers living at work in Europe, Current Sociology, 68 (3), pp. 299-315. Ceccagno, A. and A. Salviati (2020) The Chinese 'grid reaction' in Italy, The Coronavirus and Mobility Forum Ceccagno, A. and D. Sacchetto (2020) A Chinese Model for Labour in Europe?, International Migration, 58 (3), pp.73-86. Chuang, Y. H., and A.C. Trémon, eds. (2020) Mobilités et mobilisations chinoises en France, collection « SHS », Terra HN éditions, Marseille, ISBN : 979-10-95908-03-6 Du, Juan (2020) Chinese Immigrants Acting as Local Residents. De facto Citizenship in the Banlieues of Paris, Journal of Chinese Overseas 16: 191-214. Du, Juan (2020) Endurance, Identity and Temporality: Ethnic Labor Market and Labor Process of Chinese Migrant Workers in France, The Journal of Chinese Sociology.
Gledić, J., Turcsányi, R., Šimalčík, M., Kironská, K., and Sedláková, R. (2021) Serbian public opinion on China in the age of COVID-19: An unyielding alliance?, Bratislava: Central European Institute of Asian Studies Gorica, K. (2020) China: Investing and Touristing in Europe. Journal of Tourism & Hospitality 9 (4), pp. 1-6. Gubik, A.S., M. Sass, and Á. Szunomár (2020) Asian Foreign Direct Investments in the Visegrad Countries: What Are Their Motivations for Coming Indirectly? Danube 11: 3 pp. 239-252. Henneke, L. and C. Knowles (2020) Conceptualising Cities and migrant ethnicity: the lessons of Chinese London, in: John Solomos (ed) Routledge International Handbook of Contemporary racisms, London: Routledge Jovičić, E., S. Stevanović, and I. Beraha (2020). Serbia-China bilateral trade relations: major challenges and opportunities, Economic Analysis, Vol 53. No 2, pp. 133-144. Kaufmann, L. (2020) “Altdorf – Shanghai – Shenzhen – Liebefeld: Swiss-Chinese Entanglements in Digital Infrastructures. In: Data Centers: Edges of a Digital Nation, edited by Monika Dommann, Hannes Rickli, and Max Stadler, 262–289. Zurich: Lars Müller Publishers. Mohan, G. (2020), Below the Belt? Territory and Development in China's International Rise. Development and Change, 52:1, 54-75. Nyiri, P. and F. BECK (2020) Europe’s New Bildungsbürger? Chinese Migrants in Search of a Pure Land. DIASPORA 20.3: 305-326. Sirna, F. and S. Wang (2020) « European and non-European health workers in France during the COVID-19 pandemic: engagement in the disease control and in the French health system’s reorganization » in: Lia Lombardi and al. (eds.) Special Issue "The challenges of COVID-19: global health and inequality", European Sociological Association RN16 Sociology of Health and Illness Newsletter, 11, p. 14-16. Szunomár, Á. (2020) (ed.) Emerging-market multinational enterprises in East Central Europe. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. Szunomár, Á. (2020) Home and host country determinants of Chinese multinational enterprises’ investments into East Central Europe, in Szunomár, Á (eds.) Emerging-market multinational enterprises in East Central Europe. Cham, Switzerland : Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 51-86. Szunomár, Á.(2020) Theories of internationalization and foreign direct investment: How to explain FDI from emerging MNEs? In: Szunomár, Á (eds.) Emerging-market multinational enterprises in East Central Europe. Cham, Switzerland : Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 3-19. Szunomár, Á., J. Karas, I. M. Oehler-Sincai (2020) Huawei in Central and Eastern Europe: strategic partner or potential threat? In: Zhang, W; Alon, I; Lattemann, C (eds.) Huawei goes global : volume II: regional, geopolitical perspectives and crisis management. Cham, Switzerland : Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 105-128 Wang, S. (2020) De la reconfiguration des liens sociaux au temps du Covid-19 : À propos des vécus d’enfants en Chine et de ceux d’origine chinoise en France (The reconfiguration of social ties in time of the Covid-19 pandemic: About the life experiences of children in China and those of Chinese origin in France). Enfances & Psychologie, n°87. Wang, S., Chen X., and Lui T. (2020) «如何转危为机: 法国华商受新冠疫情催化实现商业模式转型的一项实证研究» ("How to turn a crisis into an opportunity? An empirical study of entrepreneurial model transition catalyzed by the Covid-19 pandemic among Chinese entrepreneurs in France."), The International Journal of Diasporic Chinese Studies (华人研究国际学报), forthcoming. Wang, S., Chen X., Li Y., C. Luu, R. Yan, and F. Madrisotti (2020) ‘I'm more afraid of racism than of the virus!’: racism awareness and resistance among Chinese migrants and their descendants in France during the Covid-19 pandemic, European Societies. Yin, W., Z. Zhu, B. Kirkulak-Uludag, Y. Zhu (2021). The determinants of green credit and its impact on the performance of Chinese banks, Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 286, 2021. Y, W., B. Kirkulak-Kuludag, and K. Matthews. (2020). Financialization, Religion and Social Trust in Rural China, PlosOne, 15(10), October. (SCI).
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