Presentations:

Lingang Zhou, Associate Professor, School of Politics and International Affairs, East China Normal University; 2025-26 Visiting Scholar, Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies 

The Progressive Logic of the PRC’s Constitution
The PRC’s constitution was initially established on the basis of a differentiated allocation of political power. First, the exploiting classes were deprived of the right to vote. Second, voting rights were distributed unequally between workers and peasants. However, at the level of constitutional law, both forms of inequality were gradually eliminated. By no later than 2010, formal equality in voting rights had been achieved within the system. Yet the dominant interpretation of the principle of equality remains unchanged. This has led to an inconsistency between interpretation and institutional reality. Exploring this inconsistency can help reveal the progressive logic underlying it.

Yixiao Zhou, Associate Professor in Economics and Director of the China Economy Program, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University; 2025-26 Visiting Scholar, Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies 

The Impact of Chinese Firms on Global Competition 
Since China’s market-oriented reforms and accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the share of Chinese firms in the global market has expanded significantly in recent decades. In this talk, Yixiao Zhou examines how the increase in China’s global market share has reshaped global competition. She examines how competitive pressure varies between firms of different market power, size, geographic locations, and industry sectors.

Yunli Lou, Founder and Managing Partner, Milestone Capital Partners; 2025-26 Visiting Fellow of Practice, Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies 

China’s Path to Energy Security – what has been achieved and what can be learned?
For more than a decade, China has been deliberately building an energy infrastructure and supply chain with a goal to reduce reliance on imports, dramatically increase clean energy production and consumption, and achieve a high degree of energy self-sufficiency. This will only be accomplished through a fundamental transformation of its energy system, moving from a fossil-fuel dominant structure to one led by new energy sources.  

Based on her experience investing in renewable and battery companies in China over the last 20 years, Yunli Lou will present a case study to illustrate the opportunities and challenges for firms in China’s new energy sector.

Discussant: Mark Wu, Henry L. Stimson Professor of Law, Harvard Law School; Director, Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies