Events

Cities’ Participation in International Decision-Making Processes: The Impact of Cities on International Law and International Relations –  December 2025
Dr. Michał Dahl delivered a lecture exploring the burgeoning role of cities as influential actors in international affairs. Drawing on his recent research, he analyzed the evolving status of cities within the frameworks of international law and international relations, examining their complex relationship with traditional state-centric subjects and legal sources. The presentation detailed the mechanisms of cities' participation within major international organizations, including the United Nations, the European Union, and the Council of Europe. Furthermore, Dr. Dahl highlighted the significant function of transnational city networks in both shaping the development and contributing to the enforcement of international norms, arguing for their recognition as key participants in global governance.

The Next Welfare State? –  December 2025
Professor Chris Pierson presented the key arguments from his recent book, The Next Welfare State? UK Welfare after COVID-19, exploring the future form of a developed welfare state in the post-pandemic era. He considered the necessary steps to realize ambitions for effective collective well-being, critically examining the lessons learned from the crisis. In his concluding remarks, Prof. Pierson provided a comparative perspective, analyzing the extent to which China, alongside established welfare states like the UK, faces analogous challenges in adapting its social protection systems to contemporary and future demands.

EU Lawlessness Law –  December 2025
Dr. Sarah Ganty delivered a lecture critically examining the concept of “EU lawlessness law,” which she defines as a set of deliberate legal techniques employed by the European Union and its Member States to systematically evade accountability for rights violations, particularly against racialized non-citizens. She argued that this framework creates a “shield of impunity” by technically adhering to the letter of the law while violating its spirit, thereby rendering fundamental human rights protections under international, EU, and European Convention on Human Rights law ineffective. The presentation detailed how these legal mechanisms operate to obstruct basic accountability and principled legal scrutiny, especially in contexts such as border control policies. Dr. Ganty concluded that the use of legality to nullify substantive rights constitutes a grave affront to the Rule of Law and a fundamental violation of the EU’s proclaimed values.

Statelessness, Citizenism and the EU Position – November 2025
Professor Dr. Dimitri V. Kochenov delivered a thought-provoking lecture that proposed a radical new paradigm for understanding statelessness: citizenism. Challenging the prevailing notion that the absence of citizenship is inherently a problem to be solved, Prof. Kochenov argued that the core issue lies in the global structure of citizenship itself—a deeply unequal, racialized, and neo-feudal hierarchy of rights and exclusions. From this “citizenism” perspective, statelessness can be seen not merely as a legal deficiency but as a position that exists outside or in resistance to this inequitable global order. The lecture critically examined how citizenship and statelessness function as tools to preserve racialized hierarchies and systematically exclude much of the world's population from rights, both domestically and internationally. In conclusion, Prof. Kochenov raised a pivotal question about the European Union's capacity to transcend a dominant Western-centric viewpoint and fundamentally rethink its approach to citizenship, rights, and belonging in this unequal global system.

True Suchness (真如) Transcends Forms: The Changing Artistic Expressions of Buddhist Figures from India to China – November 2025
Dr. Tianshu Zhu delivered an insightful lecture tracing the transmission and transformation of Buddhist imagery from its origins in India to its localization in China. Focusing on the evolution of visual forms across centuries, Dr. Zhu examined how Buddhist figures, introduced via the Silk Road, underwent profound artistic and symbolic adaptations within Chinese historical and cultural contexts. The lecture addressed the frequent obscurity surrounding the identities and meanings of these richly depicted figures, demystifying their iconography through accessible analysis. By exploring the mechanisms of cultural transmission and artistic reinterpretation, Dr. Zhu illuminated how the external forms of Buddhist art reflect deeper doctrinal and philosophical shifts. In doing so, the presentation echoed the Buddhist teaching that "true suchness" (真如) transcends form, using the complex journey of Buddhist imagery as a pathway to glimpse the essential nature beyond mere appearance.

A Proto Silk Road in the West and England’s Pompei – October 2025
Professor Julia Henderson’s lecture presented groundbreaking archaeological findings that challenge conventional perceptions of early European societies. Focusing on the extraordinary 3000-year-old settlement at Must Farm in England—dubbed “England’s Pompeii” for its sudden abandonment and exceptional preservation—she detailed how this site acts as a unique time capsule. The excavation, led by the Cambridge University Archaeology Unit, revealed well-preserved evidence of domestic activities such as weaving, food preparation, and tool-making within distinct household structures. Significantly, Prof. Henderson highlighted that analysis of glass materials discovered at the site has provided the first concrete evidence of a proto-Silk Road network, demonstrating that far-reaching trade and cultural connections extended from Western Europe to Iran and Egypt during this early period. The talk compellingly illustrated the advanced social, technological, and ritual sophistication of prehistoric communities in the region.

Rethinking Sustainability: Exploring the Concept of Sufficiency through Norwegian and Chinese Food Systems – October 2025
Dr. Marius Korsnes presented a critical examination of the concept of sufficiency as an alternative pathway to sustainability, challenging dominant efficiency-oriented approaches. Drawing on comparative research within Norwegian and Chinese food systems, the lecture analyzed how cultural and historical processes shape the consumption of animal-based foods, arguing that such consumption patterns are neither natural nor inevitable. Dr. Korsnes shared key findings from two major projects: the MEATigation project (2020–2024) on sustainable meat practices in Norway, and the MidWay project (2022–2027) investigating sufficiency in meat and milk consumption and production in China. He presented recent data from China that explores the evolving role of meat and milk in urban dietary practices, highlighting their complex embeddedness within the broader agri-food system. The talk illuminated how shifting urban lifestyles are transforming eating habits in ways that necessitate new, systemic research into sustainable food transitions.

Governance of Artificial Intelligence: Principles of China-EU Cooperation –October 2025
Professor Andrej J. Zwitter examined the evolving landscape of AI governance standards in China and the European Union. His presentation provided a comparative analysis of the regulatory norms and emerging sectoral standards applicable to bilateral cooperation in the field of Artificial Intelligence. Focusing on the implications of the EU AI Act—which sets benchmarks extending beyond European territory to shape collaborative endeavors—the lecture delved into the harmonization and potential friction points between Chinese and European approaches. By drawing on the latest systematic reviews, Prof. Zwitter highlighted how differing ethical frameworks and industry-specific norms influence the pathway for coordination and joint innovation between the two major actors in AI development.

Cleaner Air, Cooler Planet? Unlocking Faster the Co-Benefits of Synergising Air Quality and Climate Policies – September 2025
Dr. Hermann Aubié delivered a lecture exploring the critical interconnection between air quality improvement and climate change mitigation policies. He focused on the concept of "synergy," arguing that a more integrated and synchronised approach to these two policy areas can unlock faster and more significant co-benefits. By treating air pollution and climate change as interconnected challenges rather than separate issues, Dr. Aubié demonstrated how such a holistic strategy can accelerate progress towards the Paris Agreement goals while simultaneously advancing public health and planetary well-being. The lecture provided a compelling framework for understanding the potential of coordinated environmental governance.

Russia’s status seeking and its activities in Libya. - May 2025
Three years after the start of the invasion into Ukraine, Dr. Janko Scepanovic (Shanghai International Studies University) addressed the question how ‘great’ the Great Power Russia still is, how warfare and the lost relations with the West has impacted the status of Russia and how Russia has sought to compensate its power status by strengthening its ties with the non-West. 

The Value Chain Approach in Anthropology: economic marginality and social resilience in an alternative sustainable development model. - April 2025
Dr Giacomo Caruso (Hubei Minzu University)explored the intersections of tea ecology, social constraints, and alternative economic models in tea-producing communities in China and Nepal. Focusing on farmer cooperatives in Hubei and Ilam, he examined how these grassroots movements emerge as resilient responses to structural economic challenges.

Interaction across the Eurasian silk roads. - April 2025
Led by Professor Julian Henderson (University of Nottingham), the Eurasian Silk Roads provide a rich seam of evidence for the movement of religions, objects and human groups across the Eurasian plateau, leading to acculturation in cosmopolitan hubs. This talk considered such evidence and presented a case study of how science can be used to define interactions across the maritime silk road. 

Chinese Aid and British Colonial Legacy: Building the Friendship Mill in Tanzania, 1964–1969. - March 2025
Dr Thoralf Klein (University of Loughborough) discussed the planning and construction of the Friendship Mill, China’s first aid project in Tanzania, highlighting the challenges and frictions that arose from differing administrative traditions. Drawing on archival sources, he explored how the project unfolded in a competitive postcolonial environment and required negotiation between Chinese, Tanzanian, and European actors.

Christian Missionaries and China's International Trade, 1580-1936. - March 2025
Dr Chicheng MA (University of Hong Kong) explored the role of European missionaries in early globalization, highlighting how their presence in China before 1842 helped reduce information barriers and facilitate international trade. He showed that regions with longer missionary activity saw greater foreign trade after China’s opening, due to increased exposure in missionary writings and cross-cultural interactions.

Working makes you (us) feel good: The emotional conditionalities of disability welfare in China, the UK and beyond. - March 2025
Professor Sarah Dauncey (University of Nottingham) examined how emotions are embedded in public discourse on work and welfare in relation to disabled people in China, the UK, and beyond. Through a comparative lens, she explored how emotional narratives shape perceptions of disability, revealing the implicit ‘emotional conditionalities’ that influence both policy and societal attitudes.

From Policy to Power: How Educating Girls Transforms Africa’s Future. - February 2025
Dr Roshni Mooneeram (University of Nottingham) explored the intersection of education policy, crisis resilience, and economic opportunity, arguing that gender-responsive education is not just a moral imperative but a driver of Africa’s human capital development. This lecture also explored how global collaboration—particularly between Africa, China, and Europe—can drive systemic change in gender equity, without replicating historical power imbalances.

The Role of Dutch Consulate-General in Shanghai. - December 2024
Mrs Marjo Crompvoets (Dutch Consul-General) shared her experiences of her past (Guangzhou) and present (Shanghai) posting as Dutch diplomat in China, highlighting the art of being a diplomat, essential for nurturing the important economic relationship between China and The Netherlands in particular and the EU at large. She also devoted attention to her leadership role in establishing the so-called China Knowledge Centre within the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is now a booming knowledge hub enriched by civil servants, academics and representatives from the private sector, from The Netherlands but also from a variety of EU countries.

Chinese Responses to EU Economic Policy Shifts. - May 2024
Dr Frank Gaenssmantel (University of Groningen) delivered a lecture on the Chinese perception of and reaction to recent EU policy shifts in the economic relationship that exists between the two economic giants. These Chinese perceptions were then analysed for their effect on concrete changes in China’s economic policy towards the EU. 

China-Netherlands Relations in the EU Context. - April 2024
Professor Jan van der Harst (University of Groningen) delivered a lecture on past and present of relations between China and The Netherlands against the broader background of the interaction between The Netherlands and the European Union.

Workshop - Securing resilient futures: Policies, Narratives and Practices in China and Europe - April 2025
This workshop brought together scholars and experts from international relations, public policy, sociology, and environmental studies to explore how the concept of resilience is shaping responses to contemporary global challenges. Participants discussed the evolving role of resilience in policy frameworks, especially in the context of climate change, public health, and socio-political uncertainty, highlighting both its potential and its contested implications. It fostered interdisciplinary dialogue on how China and Europe are navigating risks and building more adaptive, inclusive futures.

Conference - The 12th GEP China Conference “China in an Interdependent World: Connectivity, Challenges and Change” - April 2025
The conference convened junior and senior scholars from leading Chinese academic institutions to discuss political, policy-relevant economic, socio-cultural and historical issues linked by the broad themes of the governance of globalisation, the Chinese economy and Sino-European relations. It was structured around interdisciplinary sessions, addressing topics such as trade policy, innovation policy, technology upgrading, economic conflict and cooperation, environmental sustainability, migration, Sino-European interaction from a variety of perspectives and historical insights. This conference is co-organised by the Sino European Key Laboratory, with this background, key lab organised an Academic Panel - Past and present Chinese-European relations from political, economic and socio-cultural perspectives - April 2025
Throughout times, China and Europe have maintained a complex relationship shaped by interdependence, political tensions, and cultural exchanges. At present, these complexities are even more noticeable with the United States of America seemingly growing towards a more isolationist positioning.  In our panel scholars discussed from a variety of (inter)disciplinary perspectives China's evolving role within global systems, with particular focus on China-Europe relations. This panel sought to foster dialogue across academic disciplines on how interconnectedness shaped historical and shapes contemporary political, economic and social-cultural dynamics between China and Europe.

Workshop - The Science and the Silk Road - December 2024
The international cross-disciplinary Science and the Silk Road workshop provided a forum to discuss the application of science to address key cultural and archaeological questions. Colleagues with a wide range of specializations in both organic and inorganic materials, who have used a wide range of cutting-edge techniques, showed how science and culture can be combined in both complex and innovative ways by using a series of case studies. This workshop also provided a platform to discuss the use of science and conservation to contribute to museum displays and the public understanding of science.

Roundtable - European and Chinese Perspectives on the USA Elections - November 2024
Year 2024 Presidential Elections more than any other in recent history was guaranteed to have monumental impact on both the US and the World. From a history making standpoint, the US was at a cusp of electing the first woman president or might return only the second president (with a criminal record) in its history to serve two none consecutive terms since Grover Cleveland 127 years ago. On the global stage, with both candidates having varying views about the biggest war in Europe since the 2nd World War, the outcome of the race was bound to be far reaching in the world especially for continental Europe and Ukraine in particular. This roundtable was set to discuss the candidates, the campaigns, their agenda and what this means to the world especially Europe and China while reacting in real time to electoral outcomes as they are called.

Dr David Kiwuwa (Head of School International Studies UNNC) made use of his annual visit to Nottingham University in the UK to promote the Sino-European Key Laboratory, especially at the School of Politics and International Relations and the School of Sociology and Social Policy. Reaching out to, in particular, Prof. Dauncey (Sociology) and Prof. Sullivan (International Relations) (both China experts). Dr Kiwuwa secured commitments of these two professors to be visiting scholars in 2025. Dr Kiwuwa also got the positive commitment of the University management and Faculty/School leadership to re-energize the unique Nottingham Tri-campus structure for the benefit of Sino-European Key Lab research projects. 

EUSAAP (European Union Studies Association Asia Pacific) Conference Participation: Yogyakarta, Indonesia (May 2024) and University of Macau (May 2025)– Prof. Herman participated (upon invitation) with the aim of strengthening ties with the participating high-level representation of Fudan University, Tsinghua University, and Guangdong University to promote the Sino-European Key Laboratory in UNNC and thus to lay the groundwork of enhancing collaborative European Studies in China. Also, Prof. Herman interacted with the academic leadership on the possibility of UNNC to join the EUSAAP, leading to a follow up invitation for the conference in Macau (June 2025). The representative of the EU in Indonesia Denis Chaibi highlighted the importance of fundamental research on interactions between Asia and Europe and took an interest in the concept of Sino-European Universities active in mainland China.