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News Release

Last modified: Monday, March 5, 2012

Scholars from China and around the world will convene at IU for global governance conference

Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom will present keynote address

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 5, 2012

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- More than 30 scholars on Chinese business and politics from around the world will come to Indiana University Bloomington on March 22 to 24 to present research at the Conference on China and Global Governance.

Among those speaking at the conference will be Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom, Distinguished Professor and the Arthur F. Bentley Professor of Political Science in the College of Arts and Sciences, professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and co-founder of the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis at IU Bloomington.

Other presenters will include Ricardo Melendez-Ortiz, co-founder of the Geneva-based International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development; Rorden Wilkinson, professor of international political economy at the University of Manchester (U.K.); Ren Xiao, professor and associate dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, China; and Lan Rongjie, an assistant professor at Guanghua Law School at Zhejiang University.

The conference is part of a three-year initiative, carried out with support from the Henry Luce Foundation, to better understand the extent and significance of Chinese involvement in the major areas of economic global governance and promote greater engagement and cooperation among governments, industry, other stakeholders and scholars from the U.S., China, Europe and elsewhere.

This will be the third conference in a series on China's role in the global economy organized by the IU Research Center for Chinese Politics and Business, including similar activities in Beijing, where the center also has an office. The IU Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis is co-hosting this conference.

"Globalization has created an interdependent world, but the development of institutions and processes to manage this transformation has not kept apace. Governance in trade is relatively mature but still far from adequate," said Scott Kennedy, director of the Research Center for Chinese Politics and Business and an associate professor in the departments of Political Science and East Asian Languages and Cultures at IU Bloomington. "These challenges are intensified by China's economic development and its integration into the global economy.

"On the one hand, Chinese officials, companies and other stakeholders have been learning how to integrate into and more effectively participate in international organizations. … China is moving from being a rule-taker to a rule-maker," Kennedy added. "On the other hand, the leadership of these institutions and the major powers, including the United States, are themselves coping with and adapting to a more vigorous and assertive China."

Research being presented at the conferences will be published. The hope is that the research will be useful in helping major players on the world scene be constructive participants in global governance and create a stronger foundation for China and the United States to cooperatively address problems fundamental to the well-being of people worldwide.

Thirty-eight scholars worldwide are carrying out 30 research projects on different aspects of global governance, including trade, foreign investment, climate change, health care, intellectual property rights and foreign aid. The initiative also includes regular roundtable meetings between Chinese industry leaders and the American embassy in Beijing.

Other strategic partners in this initiative are the China Institute for WTO Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, the Institute of Social Science at the University of Tokyo, and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development in Geneva.

Participation in the conference is limited to about 60 people, and select registration is available for scholars and for China and business experts. More information is available at the conference website.

More information about the Research Center for Chinese Politics and Business is available at www.indiana.edu/~rccpb.

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