Speaker Series

Each year, the CSCC invites leading experts to Penn to present their research and share their knowledge about contemporary China. Typically scheduled for Wednesday afternoons 4:30-6 pm, speakers will deliver their remarks and then entertain questions from the audience. Attendance is open to the entire Penn community. Announcements about upcoming talks will be posted on the CSCC website and disseminated via the Center’s listserv. To be added to the listserv, please visit our signup page https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/cscc-announce.

Upcoming Speaker Series



2025

TBA

Peng Peng, Assistant Professor of Political Science & Global Studies, Washington University in St. Louis
- CSCC Conference Room, PCPSE Room 418, 133 S. 36th St



2025

TBA

Yanbai Andrea Wang, Assistant Professor of Law, Penn Carey Law
- PCPSE Room 418, 133 S. 36th St



2025

Pensions and the Politics of Retirement Age Reform in China

Mark Frazier, Professor of Politics, New School for Social Research
- CSCC Conference Room, PCPSE Room 418, 133 S. 36th St

Raising legal retirement ages, also known as retirement age reform, is politically contentious worldwide, but it should be more easily pursued in non-democratic regimes that can effectively deter opponents from…



2025

The Authoritarian Commons: Neighborhood Democratization in Urban China

Shitong Qiao, Professor of Law, Duke University
- CSCC Conference Room, PCPSE Room 418, 133 S. 36th St

Based on six-year fieldwork across China including over 200 in-depth interviews, Qiao’s new book The…



2025

China and Climate Change: Transnational Science, Politics, and Policy in Historical Perspectives

Zuoyue Wang, Professor of History, California State Polytechnic University
- CSCC Conference Room, PCPSE Room 418, 133 S. 36th St



2025

Negotiating Legality: Chinese Companies in the US Legal System

Ji Li, John S. & Marilyn Long Chair of US-China Business and Law, UC Irvine
- CSCC Conference Room, PCPSE Room 418, 133 S. 36th St

Despite escalating geopolitical rivalry, the US and China continue to be economically intertwined. Numerous Chinese companies have made substantial investments in the US and are reluctant to exit this strategically…



2025

From Empire to Nation-State: War, Emulation, and National Identity in China

Jie Yang, Professor of Anthropology, Simon Fraser University
- CSCC Conference Room, PCPSE Room 418, 133 S. 36th St

This article examines when, why, and how national identity emerged in China. We argue that war acted as a catalyst for two distinct psychological mechanisms: enmity (humiliation and other negative emotions) and…



2025

TBA

Elizabeth Wishnick, Senior Research Scholar, Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
- CSCC Conference Room, PCPSE Room 418, 133 S. 36th St

Past Speaker Series



2017

The Origins and Dynamics of Crony Capitalism in China: Insights from 260 Cases of Collusive Corruption

Minxin Pei, Professor of Government, Claremont McKenna College
Stiteler Hall B26

Corruption in the post-Tiananmen era exhibits distinct characteristics not found in the 1980s, such as astronomical sums of money looted by officials, their family members, and their cronies in the private sector,…



2017

A Conversation with the Honorable Kevin Rudd:

U.S. Policy under Xi and Trump
Featuring the Honorable Kevin Rudd, 26th Prime Minister of Australia; President, Asia Society Policy Institute. Moderated by Wharton School Dean Geoff Garrett.  
Ambani Auditorium, Room G-06, JMHH Wharton School

Presented in partnership by the Penn Wharton China Center, Perry World House, Center for the Study of Contemporary China and the Wharton China Business Society. 



2017

The Rise of China and the Changing Nature of Power in the 21st Century

Adam Liff, Assistant Professor of International Relations, Indiana University
Stiteler Hall B26

This talk engages two basic questions: What makes China’s rise to “great power” status in the  21st century different from those of the past, and what does that mean for the potential for international conflict…



2017

The Return of Ideology: The Search for Regime Identities in Post-Communist China and Russia

Cheng Chen, Associate Professor of Political Science, University at Albany, SUNY
Stiteler Hall B26

This study examines post-communist Chinese regime’s ideology-building project in comparison with that in Russia, as evidenced by their respective identity and cultural politics as well as developmental strategies. …



2017

How Far is China from the Rule of Law?

He Haibo, Professor of Law, Tsnghua University School of Law
Tanenbaum 145, Gittis Classroom, Penn Law School

He Haibo is Professor of Law at Tsinghua University School of Law.  He is currently a visiting scholar at Harvard Law School’s Program on East Asian Legal Studies.  Professor Jacques deLisle will serve as…



2017

Shocks, Skills, and Political Instability in Authoritarian Regimes: A Theoretical Analysis and Application in Maoist China

Victor Shih, School of Global Policy and Strategy, UCSD; Pengfei Zhang, School of Economics, Peking University; Mingxing Liu, Institute of Education Finance Research, Peking University
Perry World House, 3803 Locust Walk

Non-democracies are seen as inherently unstable because of the high frequency of irregular and often violent leadership turnovers.  We investigate the underlying logic of stability and instability in authoritarian…



2016

China's Foreign Policy in the Xi (and Trump) Era

Isaac Stone Fish, Senior Fellow, Asia Society's Center on U.S.-China Relations
CSCC Conference Room, Fisher-Bennett 345

Since Donald Trump's surprise election victory, Beijing has grown increasingly assertive. If Trump ushers in a new era of American isolationism, will Beijing fill the vacuum left by the retreat of American power? …



2016

Two Years After the Umbrella Movement: The Evolving Crisis in Hong Kong

CEAS Issues in Contemporary East Asia Colloquium with Michael Davis
Michael C. Davis, Professor of Law, University of Hong Kong
401 Fisher-Bennett Hall

After an "umbrella movement" and a constitutional crisis that has stolen global headlines over much of the past couple years where does Hong Kong stand today? Many question are raised about the success or failure…



2016

Xi's China, Trump's America: How Much Risk for Asia?

Arthur Kroeber, Gavekal Dragonomics; Brookings-Tshinghua Center for Public Policy
Huntsman Hall JMHH G50, Wharton School of Business

In the past month the world's two biggest economies have undergone major political changes. The United States chose as its next president Donald Trump, who during his campaign pledged to wage a trade war against…



2016

China’s Perception of World Order

James Zhaojie Li, Tsinghua University Law School
Silverman Hall Room 270, Penn Law School

Lunch provided, co-sponsored by Penn Law School International Programs