Panel One: China’s Future – and the World’s Future

Chair: William A. Callahan (Manchester)

Pal Nyiri (Amsterdam), China’s Overseas Projects and the Re-emergence of Concessions

David Kelly (University of Technology, Sydney) China, Australia and the Global South 

Marieke Ohlberg (Heidelberg),Creating a Favourable World Opinion: Changes in Chinese Propaganda Targeted at Foreigners, 1989-2009

Zheng Feng (Tsinghua, China), Historical Myths and Contemporary Chinese IR Thinking

Merriden Varrall (Macquarie University), China’s New Global Role: Views from Beijing

William A. Callahan (Manchester), Patriotic Cosmopolitanism: China’s Nonofficial Intellectuals Dream of the Future

Panels Two and Three: Diversity and Mobility

Panel Two: The Politics of Diversity: Minorities and Immigrants

Since China embarked on reforms and opening-up in the 1970s, diversity has been celebrated and endorsed in all aspects of Chinese politics. At international level China’s leaders called for diversity in global politics and for respect for different paths of development, including China’s pursuit of ‘socialism with Chinese characteristics’. Within China, tourist consumption and commodification of diversity, especially of its ethnic and cultural forms, have been promoted with ethnic minorities epitomizing the scope of diversity and multicultural character of Chinese society. Diversity has recently been joined by harmony, another key concept which gained much currency in official discourse. Harmony is now officially presented as the goal driving Chinese politics at home and abroad.

The events of recent years vividly demonstrate that China’s relationship with diversity is turbulent and far from being harmonious. The acts of intolerance, violence, prejudice against religious and minority groups, foreigners (especially of Black origins), and sexual minorities call into question China’s relationship with difference. China’s confident development projects in a number of African and Latin American countries similarly beg for question whether and, if so, how China will diversify norms and values of the international institutions of development.

Chair: Elena Barabantseva (University of Manchester)

Discussant: Pal Nyiri (Free University Amsterdam)

Barry Sautman, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Scaling Back Minority Rights?: the New Debate about China’s Ethnic Policies

 Zhang Haiyang Central University for Nationalities, Beijing

The Challenges of Development and Ethnic Minorities

Dibyesh Anand (Westminster University)

Tibet and China's Global Public Diplomacy

Wooyeal Paik (Ewha Womans University and Chinese Academy of Social Science) and Myungsik Ham (Jilin University)

From Autonomous Diasporas to Non-Autonomous Diasporas: The Politics of Korean Minority Migration in Contemporary China

Frank N. Pieke (University of Oxford)

Immigrant China

Pang Lihua (Peking University)

Trends and Characteristics of Foreigners Living in China, 1978-2008

Panel Three: Chinese Foreigners and Foreign Chinese

China’s rise as a major hub of the global economy causes major changes in the patterns of mobility within China, from China, and, increasingly, to China. Within China, a national labour market is gradually emerging and workers move increasingly freely across the country. In addition, temporary outmigration and permanent resettlement have become increasingly common policy options for areas of stubborn poverty, for instance because of geographic isolation, adverse climatic conditions, or environmental degradation.  Outside China, the number of Chinese migrants continues to be very high, and the days of the traditional overseas Chinese are long gone. Chinese from across the country, for rural and urban areas, and from all walks of life seek their fortune abroad as unskilled workers, students, skilled professionals, businesspeople and even expatriate employees. Chinese have been highly enterprising in exploring new destination countries and even continents: green pastures where their skills and other assets will meet less competition from other Chinese migrants. Finally, China’s wealth, employment opportunities, supply of manufactured goods and political stability attract increasing numbers of students, marriage migrants, skilled workers, traders and businesspeople. Complementing its role as the largest reservoir of labour in the world, China is now also becoming an important destination of migrants. As the consequences of China’s ageing population and birth control policies become acute in ten to fifteen years from now, China is set  to become a country of net immigration and formidable competitor in the global labour market.

Chair: Frank Pieke (University of Oxford)

Discussant: Barry Sautman (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)

Wang Huiyao (Centre for China and Globalization and the China Western Returned Scholars Association, Beijing)

Cong Cao (State University of New York)

Who Returned to China from the U.S.?

Sara Sterling and Ching Lin Pang (University of Leuven)

‘Managing Multi-mobility and Multi-Layered Identity in China: How Ethnic Chinese-Venezuelan Returnees Cope with Chinese Language, Culture, and Identity’

Chinese Migration Patterns to Kazakhstan in the 2000s: Dynamics and Structure

Yoon Jung Park (University of Johannesburg)

Contemporary Chinese Migration to Africa

Solange Guo Chatelard (Fondation Nationales des Sciences Politiques, Paris)

Chinese Footprints in Africa: An Ethnography of the First Generation of Chinese Migrants in Zambia

Panel Four (parallel with Panel Five): Internationalisation and Civil Society Organisations in China

Chair: Rachel Murphy (University of Oxford)

This panel will consider the role of international civil society organisations in China. This includes their work in providing funds and expertise to support pilot projects for reforms in education, health and environmental management; in providing consultation and institutional support for social and political policy reforms in such diverse areas as village elections, birth planning services and micro-credit schemes; and in working with indigenous CSOs in advocacy including for migrant and ethnic rights.  The panel will also consider the internationalisation of domestic CSOs through their adoption of the language and practices of international organisations and through their increasing participation in international civil society by means of conferences, the internet, and the shared design of projects.

Sylvia So (World Vision)

Eileen Walsh (University of Oxford)  

Richard O' Leary (Queen's University Belfast)

Cecilia Milwertz (Nordic Institute for Asian Studies)

Chloé Froissart (Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales)

Panel Five (parallel with Panel Four): Sino-European Relations: Sectoral Dialogue and its contribution to Strategic Goals

 Chair: Winnie King (University of Bristol)

Over the past 25 years Sino-European Relations have evolved from a relationship characterized by limited engagement in the area of trade and economics to include intensive political dialogue and international and sectoral collaboration. Described by European and Chinese leaders as both a comprehensive and strategic partnership, engagement in repeated dialogues and the production of an increasingly institutionalized relationship suggest the establishment of a foundation of common values and common goals in both bilateral and international relations.  The events surrounding the 2008 Olympics torch relay, subsequent protests and boycotts, as well the suspension of dialogue following France's meeting with the Dali Lama however, highlight the vulnerability of this relationship to external events and developments.

Contrary to the 'stop and go' pace of engagement at the supranational level sectoral dialogues and projects continued to flourish.  Including the policy areas of the environment, space, financial services, emergency services, sustainable development and immigration, each have the potential to contribute to the advancement of bilateral Sino-European communications.  Distanced from the burdens of neo-realist ideologies embodied in official communications and nationalism, it suggests that industry, business, NGOs, and local and national governments can provide alternative opportunities for maintaining collaboration support and exchange. 

Philippa Jones (China Research Network)

Trade and Economic Dialogues:  Where the EU plays a Strong China Hand

Jing Men

Climate Change and EU Partnership

Alanna Krolikowski

Jianxiang Bi

The Security Linkages of China and the EU: Peacekeeping in Africa