Understanding China vs. Appreciating China - The struggle for interpretative sovereignty in cooperation with the People's Republic of China
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Originally, sinologists had the task of researching the philosophy, language and history of China. For at least the last 30 years however, when the People's Republic of China entered into the global value chains , the need for social and economic studies of the country has increased significantly in order to train specialists to do business with and in China. Parallel to this, dynamic academic cooperation has developed through cooperation in higher education, DAAD programmes and student exchanges. The establishment of the Confucius Institutes since 2006 marks a peak of these interrelations.
However, the paradigm of "change through trade" and a hoped-for convergence of socio-economic systems has been replaced by a new paradigm of systemic conflicts with autocratically led countries. China experts have recently begun to demand active participation in the public debate. Some are now suspicious of any intensive exchange with Chinese partners in academia and there are calls to break off contacts, close Confucius Institutes and take a stand on Beijing's controversial measures on China's periphery.
In which areas is cooperation with Chinese institutions taking place and with what goals? What kidn of form can balanced academic cooperation with China take? What "guard rails" can ensure academic freedom in this country without placing researchers and students under general suspicion? How can Germany behave towards a self-confident country that wants to change the existing order according to its own ideas, but whose participation in solving global crises is necessary?
About the author:
Prof. Dr. Matthias Niedenf眉hr is an expert on China's business ethics and political economy in East Asia. As a Senior Research Fellow at the Leadership Excellence Institute (LEIZ) of , he is concerned with economic culture in China, especially sustainable entrepreneurship. He was founding Vice Director of the China Centrum T眉bingen (CCT), Junior Professor of Chinese Business Ethics at the University of T眉bingen, and Managing Director of the European Centre for Chinese Studies (ECCS) at Peking University for many years. He spent a decade working in Beijing, Shanghai, Taiwan and Japan and established the discussion platform ThinkINChina. Niedenf眉hr advises companies on their engagement in Asia and comments on current developments as a keynote speaker and expert.