Newsletter 2019 #1

China's Capitalism - A paradoxical route to economic prosperity - Tobias ten Brink - Translated by Carla Welch

Dear friends of the Jacobs University China Global Center,

The past semester has been really fruitful for our institution. Members of the China Global Center published important work, initiated many promising new projects and organized numerous events.

At the moment of writing, the new book by Tobias ten Brink, “China’s Capitalism. A Paradoxical Route to Economic Prosperity”, is published by University of Pennsylvania Press. Christoph Lattemann and co-authors have recently published an article on knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) in the renowned journal “Regional Studies” (see New Publications).

Among the new China-related projects is Prof. Laurenz Thomsen’s cooperation with Shandong Haizhibao Ocean Science and Technology Co., Ltd. on the “Treatment of wastewater of high salt content using microalgae”. Prof. Gerd-Volker Röschenthaler was granted a new project about the development of new OLED materials, adding to his existing research cooperation with the University of Nanjing (see Research Projects).

Prof. Werner Nau was appointed as High-End Foreign Expert by the Chinese State Administration. He has also accepted the position as a Foreign Professor at the China University of Petroleum in Qingdao. Prof. Otthein Herzog has been appointed as a member of the Shanghai Municipal Artificial Intelligence Strategy Advisory Expert Committee as well as a member of the Governing Board (2nd round) of the UNESCO-Institute IKCEST – International Knowledge Center for Engineering Sciences and Technology, Chinese Academy of Engineering, Beijing. Furthermore, Prof. Herzog became a scientific advisor of the Institute for Logistics Research, Qingdao and of the Institute of Machine Intelligence, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology.

Apart from hosting five editions of the China Discussion Forum on a diversity of topics featuring different keynote speakers, the China Global Center organized a public seminar on Sino-German intercultural differences. Moreover, Prof. Eickemeyer, Prof. Halaszovich, and Prof. Lattemann hosted a conference on the topic “Blockchain Technologies (BCT) for the Chinese “Belt-Road” Initiative (BRI) – a Success Story!?”. All of these events contributed to creating and increasing the knowledge about China at Jacobs University and the wider Bremen community. We would like to give special thanks to the Konfuzius-Institut Bremen for its kind support of our activities.

Best regards,
Christoph Lattemann and Tobias ten Brink

RESEARCH PROJECTS

Challenges for the Stability of the Chinese Economic Model (DFG Research Grant)

Headed by Tobias ten Brink, this project examines if and to what extent current socio-economic and political challenges are destabilizing China’s state-permeated economic model. In particular, it asks whether recent reforms initiated under the Xi Jinping government tend to undermine or sustain the model. To take account of China’s regional heterogeneity, the research scope is not limited to aggregated national data. Three comparative case studies are conducted, which focus on industrial metropolises in the highly developed coastal province of Guangdong (here: Shenzhen), in the late-developing inland province of Hubei (here: Wuhan) and the structurally weak province of Liaoning (here: Shenyang). The project expects new insights into China’s development as well as a better understanding of the processes enabling institutional stabilization and of an incremental, path-dependent adaptation of models of capitalism.

Treatment of wastewater of high salt content from Laminaria processing using microalgae (industry project)

Within the Taishan project, an expert team coordinated by Prof. Laurenz Thomsen will collaborate with Shandong Haizhibao Ocean Science and Technology Co., Ltd. on isolating microalgae strains from the hypersaline wastewater and searching for suitable microalgae, which are halophilic and able to grow in the wastewater (˜ 20% salinity). Pure cultures will be obtained by repeated plating. Colonies of different morphologies will be identified according to morphological properties and pigment composition. The wastewater will be analyzed. Two microalgae strains will be chosen to treat the wastewater and produce high value products for subsequent marketing. This project has just started in February 2019 and will run for one year. The total project volume amounts to 260,000 Euro.

From masked carbenes to heterocycles: Novel potentially biological active difluoromethyl phosphonates as versatile building blocks (DFG)

Professor Röschenthaler attended the Inauguration of the Guangdong Israel Institute of Technology taking place in Mid-December 2017 in Shantou as a representative of Jacobs University Bremen and the German Technion Society. His new research project with Prof. Jianlin Han of the University of Nanjing has started on January 1, 2018. It is titled “From masked carbenes to heterocycles: Novel potentially biological active difluoromethyl phosphonates as versatile building blocks” and is funded by the DFG. In May 2018, he gave a Plenary Lecture at the Nanjing Fluorine Days. Then, in November 2018, he presented his lithium battery research at the headquarter of CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd.) in Ningde, Fujian on invitation by Chengdu Liang, the Vice President of R&D at CATL. Professor Gerd-Volker Röschenthaler has been awarded two DFG grants for the initiation of international cooperation, each granted for three months and worth 13.050,00 EURO. The projects are with Prof. Yi Pan and Prof. Yi Wang, University of Nanjing (China).

NEW SCHOLARS

Yang Yutu

Yang Yutu is a guest doctoral student from Sun Yat-sen University, China. The majors he studied are economics (undergraduate and master’s) and sociology (doctoral). He has two research fields: Appearance discrimination and Innovation of China. As of now, he has published two papers on patent innovation (in Chinese).

Prof. Zhang Jianhua

The China Global Center welcomed a new visiting scholar from China, Prof. Zhang Jianhua. Dean of the Economics Department at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan. The scientists exchange program of BWB (Stiftung Bremer Wertpapierbörse) funded his stay during the fall semester 2018. While being here, Prof. Zhang gave his insights on China’s economic model at one of our China Discussion Forums.

NEW PUBLICATIONS

Liu, Y., Lattemann C., Xing, Y., Dorawa, D. (2019). The emergence of collaborative partnerships between knowledge intensive business service (KIBS) and product firms: The case of KIBS in Bremen, Germany, Regional Studies 53(3), 376-387.

Zhang, W., Alon, I., Lattemann, C. (2018). China’s Belt and Road Initiative: The Changing Rules of Globalization, Palgrave Macmillan.

Xing, Y., Liu, Y., Lattemann C. (2019). Accommodating institutional logics in social enterprises: the entry mode choices of foreign hospitals in China, Journal of World Business, published online

Jiang, C., Lattemann, C. (2018). Chinese OFDI in Europe under the Guidance of BRI – A Focus on China-CEE Economic Relations, China and the World – Ancient and Modern Silk Road, World Scientific, 1(4),1-21, DOI: 10.1142/S2591729318500220

Eickemeyer, S., Halaszovich, T., Lattemann, C. (2018). Blockchain Technologien für die Sicherung von Material-, Informations- und Geldflüssen in der Logistik – Erfolgsfaktoren für die chinesische „Belt-Road” Initiative”, HMD Praxis der Wirtschaftsinformatik 324, 55, 1-14.

ten Brink, T., (2019). China’s Capitalism: A Paradoxical Route to Economic Prosperity, University of Pennsylvania Press.

May, C., Nölke, A., ten Brink, T. (2019). Public-Private Coordination in Large Emerging Economies: The Case of Brazil, India and China, in: Contemporary Politics, 25, DOI: 10.1080/13569775.2018.1555781

Liu, T., ten Brink, T. (2019) International Comparative Perspectives on Chinese Social Policy. Introduction to the Special Issue, in: Journal of Chinese Governance, 4, DOI: 10.1080/23812346.2018.1519323

ten Brink, T., Butollo, F. (2018). Domestic Market Growth and Local State Support in the Upgrading of China’s LED Lighting Industry, in: Global Networks, 18:2, 285-306. DOI: 10.1111/glob.12160

PAST EVENTS

China Discussion Forum

Five editions of the China Discussion Forum took place on the campus of Jacobs University Bremen during the last season, providing the opportunity to learn and debate on China’s ongoing reforms and transformations.

The first China Discussion Forum in 2018 was held on May 23 on the topic: “The Puzzle of Innovation-driven Development in Guangdong.” The keynote speaker Prof. Qiu Haixiong from Sun Yat-sen University presented his research on the gradual shift of the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong province in southern China from imitation towards innovation-driven development.

On July 6, a discussion forum was held on China’s largest social policy project in its history. Under the title “Dynamics and Reforms of Chinese Health Insurance by interplay of national and international influences”, participants debated on how the emergence and expansion of the health insurance system was influenced by international interdependencies.

The China Discussion Forum held on November 13 focused on a study by Yutu Yang, a Ph.D. student at Sun-Yat-Sen University in China who was a guest at the Jacobs University. Under the title “How Beauty Affects Wage: A Mediating Effect of Social Capital”, the common phenomenon of “Appearance discrimination” was explored and discussed. This issue becomes prevalent in job searches and marriage decisions and was looked at from a social capital perspective.

The keynote speaker Prof. Zhang Jianhua from the Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, China was featured in the China Discussion Forum on December 12, 2018. In his presentation “Understanding Chinese Economic Transformation: Past, Present and Future”, Prof. Zhang developed predictions on China’s future development path based on a thorough examination of the country’s past and current economic developments.

The new year 2019 began with a discussion stimulated by the presentation “Health and Pension Insurance Reform in the PRC: Marketization and the Legacies of the Planned Economy” by keynote speaker Dr. Armin Müller from Jacobs University Bremen. The presentation focused on how health protection in China has changed in the context of economic reforms since 1979 and how it was shaped by contradictions between the planned economy and marketization.

Public Seminar: Cultural Differences between China and Germany

Cultural Differences

The public seminar “Cultural differences between China and Germany” took place on September 10th, 2018 and February 28th, 2019. Hosted by psychologist Prof. Yan Song, who is specialized on intercultural psychology, the seminar provided the setting for a meeting between German entrepreneurs and a Chinese entrepreneur delegation from Zhejiang Province. During the four hours of interaction, their understanding of each culture was discussed and also illustrated by simulating various situations. One of the main achievements of the seminar was the development of solution strategies to increase awareness of cultural differences and the acceptance between the cultures.

Research Project: Transport Safety and Data Security as Success Factors for the New Silk Road

conference picture

In 2018, more than 10 months were spent working on a research project funded by the Confucius Institute respectively HANBAN. The project dealt with safety aspects of the New Silk Road. The “New Silk Road” project was launched by China in order to open up further sales markets and production sites and establish a second link to existing markets. China is thus directly and indirectly connected to a large number of countries by land. As common in logistics, information and money flows run parallel to the flow of materials. Accordingly, it is an important challenge to ensure safety for all these different flows.

Traditional eve of the 118th anniversary dinner of the “Ostasiatischer Verein Bremen” (East Asian Association Bremen)

On February 22, 2019 the traditional evening reception for the anniversary of the East Asian Association Bremen was held at the Jacobs University Bremen. Members and guests of the association, including around hundred high-ranking representatives from the fields of politics, diplomacy, industry and science, were welcomed. The event was be rounded off by a diverse cultural program provided by students from Jacobs University.

CONTACT US

Dr. Wang Fei

Tel: +49 421 200-3041

fe.wang@jacobs-university.de