New Zealand International Conference on Contemporary China
We organise an annual international conference which brings together leading scholars to examine key issues in China studies for New Zealand.
New Zealand International Conference on Contemporary China
The New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre—Kōmaru Kura has organised an annual international conference bringing together leading scholars, policymakers and practitioners from New Zealand and internationally to examine major issues in contemporary China and their implications for New Zealand.
2020 — The Chinese Economy: New Policies, Challenges and Directions
17–20 November 2020 | Online
The 2020 conference examined the challenges facing the Chinese economy amid structural economic transformation, the US–China trade war and the global economic disruption caused by COVID-19. A series of talks considered China's emerging economic policy framework, including the concept of "dual circulation", the challenges facing China's economy in a changing global environment, and the future direction of Chinese foreign trade policy.
2019 — China and Climate Change: Responding to a Global Challenge
13 November 2019 | Wellington
The 2019 conference examined China's approach to climate change and its implications for New Zealand, the region and global efforts to reduce emissions. Experts from China, New Zealand and Australia considered China's climate policies, renewable energy and low-carbon development, green finance, sustainable agriculture and industry, and China's role in regional and international climate action.
2018 — China's New Tourists: New Zealand and the Year of Chinese Tourism
4 December 2018 | Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington
The 2018 conference examined the rapid growth and changing nature of Chinese outbound tourism and what this meant for New Zealand. It brought together academics, policymakers and tourism industry representatives to consider the changing expectations of Chinese tourists, lessons from other tourism markets, and how New Zealand could develop the market sustainably ahead of the 2019 China–New Zealand Year of Tourism.
2017 — Financial Liberalisation and the Renminbi: Implications for New Zealand
25 October 2017 | University of Auckland
The 2017 conference examined China's financial liberalisation and the internationalisation of the renminbi. Experts considered China's financial reforms, the growing use of the RMB in international trade and investment, developments in RMB–NZD convertibility, financial technology and the implications of China's changing financial system for New Zealand businesses, investors and policymakers.
2016 — The Rise of Chinese Agriculture
27–28 October 2016 | Wellington
The 2016 conference examined the transformation of China's agricultural sector and the implications for New Zealand's food and agricultural industries. Scholars, policymakers and industry representatives considered agricultural modernisation, food safety and consumption, dairy and other primary industries, investment, and China's changing position in global agricultural markets.
2015 — China–US Relations in Global Perspective
8–9 October 2015 | Wellington
The 2015 conference examined the increasingly important relationship between China and the United States from Chinese, American, New Zealand and wider international perspectives. Held shortly after Chinese President Xi Jinping's first state visit to the United States, the conference considered the bilateral relationship and its implications for the Asia-Pacific, Oceania and the wider international system.
2014 — China at the Crossroads: What the Third Plenum Means for China, New Zealand and the World
2 July 2014 | Wellington
The 2014 conference examined the implications of the Chinese Communist Party's November 2013 Third Plenum and its ambitious programme of economic and institutional reform. Panels considered developments in governance and society, economics and finance, and the implications of China's evolving reform agenda for New Zealand and the wider region.
2013 — China's Global Course: The Political Economy of China Going Global
20–21 August 2013 | Wellington
The 2013 conference examined China's growing international economic engagement and the political economy of its "going global" strategy. Leading scholars and policymakers considered China's economic rise, overseas investment, internationalisation of the renminbi and China's changing role in global economic governance.
2012 — The Chinese Model of Modern Economic Development and Social Transformation: Theory and Debate
13–14 August 2012 | Wellington
Co-hosted with Peking University's School of Government, the 2012 conference brought leading scholars together to examine whether China's experience represented a distinctive model of modern economic development and social transformation. Panels explored political economy, social transformation, cultural change, institutions, industrial development, labour and rural–urban transformation.
2011 — Growing Pains and Growth Paths: China and Japan in Modern Economic Growth
5–6 December 2011 | Wellington
Co-hosted with the New Zealand Asia Institute at the University of Auckland, the 2011 conference compared the experiences of China and Japan as modern economies. It examined whether China's contemporary economic challenges resembled Japan's experience in the 1980s, and considered the implications for economic development, industrial restructuring, regional cooperation and global economic governance.
2010 — China and India: The End of Development Models?
12–13 April 2010 | Wellington
The 2010 conference examined the remarkable economic growth and social transformation of China and India and what their experiences meant for theories of economic development. It explored the role of the developmental state, export-led growth, institutional change and the different historical circumstances shaping the development paths of the world's two most populous countries.
2009 — China's Development: Institutional Dynamics and the Great Transformation of China
14–15 April 2009 | Wellington
The inaugural Wellington Conference on Contemporary China examined the role of institutions in China's economic, political and social transformation following the launch of reform and opening in 1978. It brought together China scholars and institutional theorists to examine issues including property rights, the hukou and danwei systems, politics and markets, constitutional order, party and electoral systems, and China's international relations.
2009 — Opening of the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre
14 April 2009 | Hunter Council Chamber, Victoria University of Wellington
The New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre—Kōmaru Kura was formally opened at Victoria University of Wellington on 14 April 2009. The opening marked the establishment of New Zealand's first national centre dedicated to contemporary China research and brought together representatives from government, academia and the wider New Zealand–China community.