Finnish China Law Center’s Role in the Sino-Finnish Joint Action Plan (2019-2023)

The Finnish China Law Center has been recognized in a Joint Action Plan to promote the bilateral relationship between China and Finland, published by Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Chinese President Xi Jinping during President Niinistö’s state visit to China on 13 – 16 January 2019.

The Joint Action Plan between China and Finland on Promoting the Future-oriented New-type Cooperative Partnership 2019-2023 focuses on strengthening practical cooperation across ‘important fields of political and economic relations, sustainable development, connectivity and social equality’, the document’s preamble provides.

According to the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Plan ‘aims to make the cooperation between the countries more results-oriented and effective‘.

The Finnish China Law Center’s role is aimed at deepening bilateral research and education cooperation between China and Finland on sustainability issues, including ‘corporate social responsibility, sustainable business practices, labour law, environmental law, Arctic-related laws and other fields of mutual interest’, according to the Plan.

The Plan notes that the this aim will be achieved through joint research projects, annual Sino-Finnish Comparative Law Seminars jointly organised by the Center and the CASS Institute of Law, China Law Workshops organised by the Center, joint publications, guest academic lectures and other initiatives.

Professor Yifeng Chen, Associate Professor and Assistant Dean (International) of Peking University Law School, says the Plan is ‘a testimony to how quickly the Finnish China Law Center has established itself over the years of its operation’.

‘The Center is an important platform for intellectual exchange between legal scholars in Finland and China, and increasingly the Nordic region as a whole’.

Professor Chen, also Docent of International Law in the University of Helsinki, was visiting Finland to give a guest lecture in the Finnish China Law Center at the time the Plan was released.

Director of the Finnish China Law Center, Professor Ulla Liukkunen, said the Center’s role in the Joint Action Plan came at a time when across the Nordic region, and Europe more generally, there was growing interest in understanding the Chinese legal system and in promoting deeper knowledge of what could be called the ‘Nordic legal model’ in China.

More information on past and ongoing China law-related education and research initiatives undertaken by the Center and its 10 member institutions can be found on the Center’s blog and in its publication Report on its First Four Years (2013-2016).

Front page of the Joint Action Plan between China and Finland. Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and President Xi Jinping published the Plan to promote a bilateral partnership between the two countries during President Niinistö’s state visit to China in January 2019. Source: https://um.fi.

 

 

Peking University Law School International Day 2018

The Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki, based in one of the 10 member institutions of the Finnish China Law Center, participated in Peking University (PKU) Law School’s International Day on 19 October 2018.

The University of Helsinki was represented at the event by Kimmo Nuotio, professor of criminal law and chair of the board of the Finnish China Law Center and currently visiting professor at the Center for Ethics of the University of Toronto.

Professor Nuotio represented the Faculty of Law at a number of events, including the Global Law School Fair and Global Faculty Inaugural Ceremony, during which his appointment as a member of PKU Law School’s Global Faculty was announced publicly.

PKU Law School’s Global Faculty consists of 20 invited international members and is the first of its kind in China, and was established with the aim of furthering the internationalization of the activities of the PKU Law School. Peking University ranks in the top 30 universities worldwide, according to the Times Higher Education’s rankings data for 2018.

Since 2015, Peking University has been a strategic partner of the University of Helsinki. The Finnish China Law Center has worked closely with Peking University on a range of initiatives and research collaborations, including a number of Academy of Finland-funded projects, details of which can be found in the Finnish China Law Center: Report on its First Four Years.

Professor Nuotio’s visit to PKU Law School coincided with a visit to the University of Helsinki by a senior delegation from Peking University, lead by Vice President Tian Gang, between 19 – 22 October.

Participants at Peking University Law School’s Annual Open Day 2018 (Picture credit: Peking University Law School).

 

‘China and One Belt, One Road in the Post-World War II International Legal System’: Guest lecture, 15 November (CANCELLED)

The Finnish China Law Center’s planned event on 15 November 2018 in its ‘One Belt, One Road’ Series, a public guest lecture and discussion on ‘China and One Belt, One Road in the Post-World War II International Legal System’has been cancelled. The Center apologies for any inconvenience.

The lecture was planned to be given by Professor Sheng Hongsheng, Professor of Public International Law at Shanghai University of Political Sciences and Law and Director of the One Belt, One Road Judicial Research Institute of the Supreme People’s Court of China.

The Finnish China Law Center’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ Event Series

The public guest lecture and discussion was the latest of many events in the Finnish China Law Center’s series on China’s massive economic and strategic agenda, the so-called ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative. Other events held earlier in 2018 as part of the series include:

Normative Readings of the Belt and Road Initiative: Road to New Paradigms

China’s Arctic Policy – The ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative and the Nordic Countries

Trade Governance of China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Economic Logic and Institutional Arrangements

Biography of Professor Sheng

In addition to his position as Professor Public International Law at the, Professor Sheng is Director of the One Belt, One Road Judicial Research Institute of the Supreme People’s Court of China.

Professor Sheng’s academic interests focus on international law, international relations, international organisation, international humanitarian law and international criminal justice. He has published over eighty articles in leading academic journals at home and abroad, as well as six books: Challenges and Responses in International Criminal Law (2017), Constraints on the Use of Force—Legal Aspects of Armed Conflict in Early 21st Century (co-author, 2014), NGO’s in Contemporary International Relation (2004), United Nations Peacekeeping Operations: Legal Aspects (2006), Developments in British Politics and Its Foreign Policy (2008) and State Responsibility under International Law in Anti-Terrorism Campaign (2008).

In June 2011, Professor Sheng was granted the title Qianjiang Professorship by the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province, China. He is Senior Colonel (Ret. & Res.) after retirement from military service in 2009. From April 2004 to April 2005, Professor Sheng was United Nations Expert on Mission for the MONUC in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, serving as Team Leader of Military Observers and Senior Liaison Officer. He was also appointed by the Chief of the Mission Chair of Independent Board of Inquiry to review international criminal cases. In April 2005, he was granted the United Nations Medal (In the Service of Peace).

Professor Sheng Hongsheng (Shanghai University of Political Sciences and Law) will speak at the Finnish China Law Center on 15 November 2018. Photo credit: Sheng Hongsheng.

 

China’s Rise and Rule of Law in National Security

Professor Zhao Hongrui, Dean of the School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law of Harbin Institute of Technology, has donated his major work on China, rule of law and national security to the Finnish China Law Center.

The Chinese-language publication, ‘China’s Civilized Rise and Rule of Law in National Security’ (China Legal Publishing House 2015) draws upon his inter-disciplinary research and insights gained in his roles as Vice-President of the WTO Law Institute and President of the One Belt, One Road Economic Security and Rule of Law Institute of the China Law Society.

Professor Zhao’s book will be available in the China Law Collection in the main library of the University of Helsinki.

Professor Zhao Hongrui, Dean of the School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law of Harbin Institute of Technology, presenting his book during a visit to the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki to Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish China Law Center, on 12 October 2018

Book launch of ‘Normative Readings of the Belt and Road Initiative: Road to New Paradigms’ (Springer 2018)

On 29 August 2018, the Finnish China Law Center and the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki hosted the launch of the new book, Normative Readings of the Belt and Road Initiative: Road to New Paradigms (Springer 2018).

The book, edited by University of Helsinki scholars Professor Kimmo Nuotio and Doctoral Candidate Kangle Zhang, is an international collaboration with Chinese scholars.

Professor Shan Wenhua, Dean of the School of Law and founding Director of the Silk Road Institute for International and Comparative Law (SRIICL) at Xi’an Jiaotong University, also co-edited the publication.

Front cover of the new publication (picture courtesy of Springer).

The event was hosted by the Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki, Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo.

An overview of the book and its main themes was given by one of the editors, Professor Kimmo Nuotio.

Comments on the new book were provided by Professor Ditlev Tamm (University of Copenhagen) and Associate Professor Chen Yifeng (Peking University), who is also Docent in the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki.

The event was free and open to the public.

About the new book

The edited volume of 12 chapters provides normative readings on China’s foreign affairs ‘master plan’ and signature policy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative.

According to Professor Kimmo Nuotio, co-editor and author of the book’s epilogue, the publication is an international effort that aims to shed light on under-explored non-trade normative aspects of China’s epic global infrastructure project, as well as the initiative’s socio-legal implications.

‘The book focuses on aspects of the so-called ‘New Silk Road’ Initiative that we thought deserved more attention, such as issues relating to culture and legal philosophy, environmental law and protection, social responsibility, and the rule of law, judiciary and the role of lawyers’, Professor Nuotio says.

Lecture by Dr Sanna Kopra on her new book ‘China and Great Power Responsibility for Climate Change’ (Routledge 2018)

On 14 August 2018, Dr Sanna Kopra gave a public lecture on her recently published book, China and Great Power Responsibility for Climate Change (Routledge 2018) at the University of Helsinki, one of the Finnish China Law Center’s 10 member institutions.

Dr Kopra spoke at the Aleksanteri Institute (Unioninkatu 33) in the University of Helsinki, one of the world’s largest and best-known centres in the field of Russian and Eastern European studies.

The event was free, open to the public and registration was not necessary.

Cover of Dr Kopra’s new book, China and Great Power Responsibility for Climate Change (Routledge 2018). Picture credit: www.crcpress.com.

About the speaker

Dr Kopra is a specialist on China and environmental responsibility. Her publications include academic articles and popular science texts on China’s climate policy, Arctic governance, sustainable development and international environmental responsibility. Her professional positions include Postdoctoral Researcher in the Aleksanteri Institute and Member of Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS), both located in the University of Helsinki.

 

Dr Kopra speaking at another recent event about her book. Photo credit: Lena Gorbacheva, Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki.

About the book

Based on a premise that great powers have unique responsibilities in international society, Dr Kopra’s book explores the way China’s rise to great power status transforms the notions of great power responsibility in general and in the context of international climate politics in particular. The book produces empirical knowledge on the Chinese party–state’s conceptions of state responsibility and the influence of those notions on China’s role in international climate politics.

Regarding theory, the book builds on and contributes to the English School of International Relations and argues that the international norm of climate responsibility is an emerging attribute of great power responsibility. The book also discusses the way China will act out its climate responsibility in the future and ponders broader implications of China’s evolving notions of great power responsibility for climate change. Thus, it seeks to shed new light on the transformations China’s rise will yield and the kind of great power China will prove to be.

Scholars from the University of Helsinki Team with Chinese Researchers for New Book on China’s ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative

Scholars from the University of Helsinki, one of the Finnish China Law Center’s 10 member institutions, have in collaboration with Chinese scholars written and edited a recently published book, Normative Readings of the Belt and Road Initiative: Road to New Paradigms (Springer 2018).

The edited volume of 12 chapters provides normative readings on China’s foreign affairs ‘master plan’ and signature policy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative.

Professor Kimmo Nuotio of the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki co-edited the book and penned its epilogue.

He says the publication was an international effort that aims to shed light on under-explored non-trade normative aspects of China’s epic global infrastructure project, as well as the initiative’s socio-legal implications.

‘The book focuses on aspects of the so-called ‘New Silk Road’ Initiative that we thought deserved more attention, such as issues relating to culture and legal philosophy, environmental law and protection, social responsibility, and the rule of law, judiciary and the role of lawyers’.

‘Given the scale and importance of the ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative, we also felt it necessary that the book generate critical insights into how the project could or should develop and be better regulated’, Professor Nuotio says.

The book was also edited by Professor Shan Wenhua, one of China’s leading scholars on the ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative.

Professor Shan is founding Dean of the School of Law and founding Director of the Silk Road Institute for International and Comparative Law (SRIICL) at Xi’an Jiaotong University.

Doctoral Researcher Zhang Kangle of the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, also co-edited the publication and authored a chapter on the relationship between China’s new financial institutions and the country’s global strategy.

Dr Guilherme Vasconcelos Vilaca, also of the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, contributed a chapter on ‘Strengthening the Cultural and Normative Foundations of the Belt and Road Initiative: The Colombo Plan, Yan Xuetong and Chinese Ancient Thought’.

The book is available for loan from the library of the University of Helsinki and for purchase online.

Front cover of the new publication (picture courtesy of Springer).

Nordic China Law Week 2018: 17 – 23 April

The Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki are proudly co-hosting Nordic China Law Week 2018.

‘Nordic China Law Week 2018 will be held 17 – 23 April and will feature an exciting array speakers and contributors from China and the Nordic region’, says Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Center.

‘This reflects ever-deepening interest in Chinese law in the Nordic academic, and broader public, arena’.

‘In addition, Nordic China Law Week 2018 is being held in response to strong and growing interest in Chinese law and the Chinese legal system from the private and non-profit sectors’, Professor Liukkunen says.

‘In light of corporate demand, including from local SMEs and startups, Nordic China Law Week 2018 will include many events on Chinese business and corporate law, including Chinese intellectual property law’.

Professor Liukkunen says the Center is particularly thankful for the contribution and involvement of scholars from across the Center’s 10 member institutions.

Nordic China Law Week 2018 will include a day-long China Law Workshop, the first-ever Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting, a half-day seminar on contemporary people management in China (special guest speaker: Peter Vesterbacka of Angry Birds and Slush fame), a short-form seminar on China’s Belt and Road Initiative, as well as guest lectures on Chinese constitutional and intellectual property law.

The Week is targeted at lawyers, those in business (including entrepreneurs), people working in governments or international organizations, academics, students, those working in NGOs /civil society and anyone with an interest in learning about Chinese law and legal culture.

All events are free and open to the public, with the exception of the Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting (aimed at senior scholars from education and research institutions in the Nordic region, though junior academics, including doctoral candidates, are welcome to join). The host of the Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting will be Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki.

Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki, will host the first-ever Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting during Nordic China Law Week 2018.

The Finnish China Law Center and Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, thank University of Helsinki Chinese Studies and the Confucius Institute at the University of Helsinki for their support for Nordic China Law Week 2018.

Program of events

Further details of each event in Nordic China Law Week 2018, as well as links to register where relevant, can be found in the following event pages on the website of the Finnish China Law Center:

Tuesday 17 April: Trade Governance of the Belt and Road Initiative: Economic Logic and Institutional Arrangements

Wednesday 18 April: Latest Developments in Chinese Intellectual Property Law

Wednesday 18 April: How Important is China’s Constitution in the Chinese Legal System?

Thursday 19 April: China Law Research Workshop

Friday 20 April: Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting

Monday 23 April: Information Session on Online Chinese Legal Research

Monday 23 April: Seminar: What People Management Practices Work Best in China Today? Cultural and Legal Perspectives

Further questions and media inquiries

Please contact Stuart Mooney, Coordinator of the Finnish China Law Center, at stuart.mooney (at) helsinki.fi.

Finnish China Law Center to hold China Law Research Workshop for Researchers, Practitioners and Students: Thursday 19 April 2018

As part of Nordic China Law Week 2018, the Finnish China Law Center is organizing a China Law Research Workshop to be held on Thursday 19 April 2018 at the University of Helsinki, Finland, one of the Finnish China Law Center’s 10 member institutions.

The Workshop will provide an overview of how to approach Chinese legal research and comparative law research involving China.

The event will be of benefit to students, researchers and practitioners who are interested in Chinese law and the Chinese legal system, and provide an excellent opportunity for participants to meet and network with others who are working with, or interested in, Chinese law and legal culture.

This is the second time the Finnish China Law Center has held a China Law Research Workshop, which is being co-organized with the Faculty of Law and Confucius Institute of the University of Helsinki.

Moderator and Speakers

Professor and judge Alan C. Neal will moderate the event, which will be opened by the Director of the Finnish China Law Center, Professor Ulla Liukkunen.

Professor Alan Neal (Photo credit: Leiden University)

Professor Neal will be joined by scholars from the Nordic region and China. Visiting scholars from China include Professor Jin Haijun (Renmin University)Professor Yan Dong (Beijing Foreign Studies University) and Associate Professor Yan Tian (Peking University).

Registration

Please register by close of business Monday 16 April through the following electronic registration form:

https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/87422/lomake.html

Workshop Program 

Venue: Small Hall, Fourth Floor of the Main Building of the University of Helsinki, Fabianinkatu 33

08:30 – 09:00  Registration and coffee

09:00 – 09:15  Welcome to the workshop

Introduction to the Workshop and Some Thoughts on China Law Research: Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture (University of Helsinki)

09:15 – 10:45  Session 1. Background: China and Chinese Law in Context

Session moderator: Professor Alan C. Neal (University of Warwick)

Discovering ‘China’: An Overview: Professor Alan C. Neal (University of Warwick)

Sources of Chinese Law: Professor Yan Dong (Beijing Foreign Studies University)

Nordic Reflections on Chinese Culture, the Rule of Law and Judicial Reform with Chinese Characteristics: Professor Ditlev Tamm (University of Copenhagen)

10:45 – 11:00  Morning tea/coffee

11:00 – 12:30  Session 2. Theoretical Perspectives: Historical and Comparative Approaches to Chinese Law and Legal Culture 

Session moderator: Professor Alan C. Neal (University of Warwick)

Culture and Contemporary China: Professor Julie Yu-Wen Chen, Professor of Chinese Studies and Director of Confucius Institute at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki

Intersections of Economics, Business and the Law in China: Implications for Legal Research: Professor Matti Nojonen (University of Lapland)

Taking Account of History When Researching Contemporary Law: Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law (University of Helsinki)

12:30 – 13:45  Lunch

13:45 – 15:15  Session 3. Institutions and Actors: Contextualizing Law in China (parallel session)

Venue: Small Hall, Fourth Floor of the Main Building of the University of Helsinki, Fabianinkatu 33

Session moderator: Professor Alan C. Neal (University of Warwick)

The Chinese Legal System in an International Context: Professor Yan Dong (Beijing Foreign Studies University)

Gendered Choices in Structures of Law and Gender: Theoretical Considerations When Undertaking Comparative and Chinese Law Research: Minna Canth Academy Professor Johanna Niemi (University of Turku) and Doctoral Researcher Pia Eskelinen (University of Turku)

Legal Institutions: Judicial and Administrative Decision-Making in China: Professor Alan C. Neal (University of Warwick)

13:45 – 15:15  Session 4. Current ‘Hot’ Topics in Chinese Private Law (parallel session)

Venue: Auditorium XII, Third Floor of the Main Building of the University of Helsinki, Unioninkatu 34

Session moderator: Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture (University of Helsinki)

How to Approach Chinese IP Law and Private Law Theory: Professor Jin Haijun (Renmin University)

How to Approach Chinese Labour Law and Industrial Relations: Assistant Professor Yan Tian (Peking University)

How to Approach the Chinese Company Law Regime: Dr Yihong Zhang (University of Helsinki)

15:15 – 15:30  Afternoon coffee/tea

15:30 – 16:30  Panel Discussion: Practicalities of China Law Teaching and Research

Venue: Small Hall, Fourth Floor of the Main Building of the University of Helsinki, Fabianinkatu 33

Session moderator: Professor Alan C. Neal (University of Warwick)

Professor Jukka Viljanen (University of Tampere)
Dr Harriet Lonka (University of Eastern Finland)
Dr Wei Lu (Aalto University)
Dr Guilherme Vasconcelos Vilaca (University of Helsinki)

16:30 End of Workshop

18:00 Official Reception hosted by Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki

Venue: Faculty of Law Teachers’ Lounge, Second Floor of the Porthania Building (Yliopistonkatu 3)

Other Events During Nordic China Law Week 2018 

The Workshop is just one of many exciting events being organized as part of Nordic China Law Week 2018 (17 – 23 April 2018).

Tuesday 17 April: Trade Governance of the Belt and Road Initiative: Economic Logic and Institutional Arrangements

Wednesday 18 April: Latest Developments in Chinese Intellectual Property Law

Wednesday 18 April: How Important is China’s Constitution in the Chinese Legal System?

Friday 20 April: First Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting

Monday 23 April: Seminar: What People Management Practices Work Best in China Today? Cultural and Legal Perspectives

Further Information and Media Inquiries

Questions about the Workshop from interested participants and the media can be directed to the Coordinator of the Finnish China Law Center, Stuart Mooney, at stuart.mooney (at) helsinki.fi.

Logo of the University of Helsinki, the Law Faculty of which co-organized the China Law Research Workshop.
Logo of the Confucius Institute of the University of Helsinki, co-organizer of the China Law Research Workshop.

Joel Toivola Foundation Grants

The Joel Toivola Foundation is an independent Finnish foundation supporting Finnish academic studies on China.

The Foundation awards grants for talented young scholars in the fields of humanities and social science research on China, as well as for Finnish students’ Chinese linguistic studies in China.

The last deadline for applying for grants, including Research Fellowship and travel funds, closed on 15 February 2018 at 16:00.

Further information on the grants and detailed application instructions can be found on the Foundation’s website.

For further information on the Joel Toivola Foundation, please contact Foundation’s Executive Director, Mr. Mikko Eskola at saatio@helsinkinet.fi.

About Joel Toivola

According to the website of the Joel Toivola Foundation, Ambassador Joel Toivola (1915-1999) worked for the Finnish Foreign Service in several important posts for more than three decades. He is especially remembered as a great friend of China and throughout his career encouraged relations between Finland and the People’s Republic of China. Mr. Toivola served as the Ambassador of Finland to Beijing from 1961 to 1967.

Working as Visiting Researcher in Leading Chinese University Gives Fresh Perspectives on China-Africa Relations, Global Governance and International Law

Dr Obert Hodzi, a postdoctoral researcher and Sino-Africa relations scholar in the University of Helsinki, recently returned from a six-week stint as a Visiting Scholar in Renmin University, China. Renmin University is a key partner of the Finnish China Law Center. The strong links between the Center’s 10 member institutions, including the University of Helsinki, and Renmin University are detailed in the Report recently published by the Center.

Upon his return, the Finnish China Law Center took the opportunity to discuss with Dr Hodzi his experience as Visiting Scholar at one of China’s best universities, and to learn more about his current research into Chinese politics and law.

Finnish China Law Center: Congratulations on your appointment as a Visiting Scholar at Renmin University. Before we discuss that experience, could you please say a little about your background?

Dr Hodzi: I’m a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Cultures at the University of Helsinki. Before joining the University of Helsinki, I was a visiting scholar at the Institute for Peace and Security Studies, Ethiopia. I have also worked for various international and regional organizations in my home country of Zimbabwe, as well as Kenya and Germany on projects about democratic governance and transitional justice.

Finnish China Law Center: Can you explain your main research interests?

Dr Hodzi: I’ve long had an interest in China’s international political and legal engagement, including in relation to Africa. I obtained my PhD from a Chinese university, Lingnan University in Hong Kong, where I researched political and legal aspects of China’s military engagement in Africa. My current research focuses on emerging powers and global governance. In particular, I look at China-Africa security relations and politics in Africa, including the domestic and legal implications of China’s engagement.

Finnish China Law Center: How was your research assisted by working as a Visiting Scholar in China?

Dr Hodzi: Having lived and worked and lived in both China and different Africa has given me a more nuanced understanding of the different political and legal cultures and orders at play across China and throughout Africa. I’ve come to appreciate that reading, discussing and researching about China is nothing compared to seeing it in real life! This certainly was my realization during my research in mainland China. Being able to discuss with scholars, practitioners and other relevant actors in China – both Chinese and from other countries – enriched my research and has opened new avenues of future collaboration for which I am very grateful.

Finnish China Law Center: The Finnish China Law Center recently co-organized the annual China Research Day and Asian Studies Days. The theme of both events was US-Sino relations and the consequences for Asian security. How does your own research bear on this issue, including from the perspective of international law?

Dr Hodzi: This theme is timely and important, and it connects directly with my current and future work. Over the next two years my research focus will be on the Chinese model of development and governance in Asia and Africa. As China gets comfortable in its global primacy role, all roads are leading to Beijing. In the jostling for a piece of the China cake, there is obviously bound to be conflict and contractions regarding international law. For instance, this is seen in the case of the South China Sea dispute, as was discussed during the China Research Day and Asian Studies Days events, as well as anti-dumping measures against Chinese companies. I would also say that security issues will become even more important for both China and other countries as Chinese firms and citizens go abroad.

Dr Hodzi, Visiting Scholar at Renmin University, with a friend outside the Forbidden City, Beijing, September 2017

Finnish China Law Center: You are helping organize a Conference on the so-called ‘Chinese model’ of governance next year. What thematic ground will be conference cover, and why is the conference important?

Dr Hodzi: The Confucius Center at the University of Helsinki is organizing the Helsinki Conference on Chinese Model of Governance. It will be held on 20 March 2018. During the conference, scholars from Finland and abroad will re-visit discussions of the Chinese model of governance. The old and new features of President Xi’s model of governance will be discussed at length. The conference is important because the bulk of contemporary scholarship on the ‘China model’ questions whether such a model even exists. And even those who acknowledge the existence of such a model debate its characteristics. In light of this ongoing debate, the conference will discuss the various manifestations of the Chinese model of governance. These manifestations range from local governance, local election, civil society to economic policies. A particular strength of the conference will be its interdisciplinary nature, using a variety of perspectives such as critical empirical case studies. I’m already excited about it! We have great keynote speakers, too: Oscar Almén, Uppsala University, Sweden, and Zhongyuan Wang from Fudan University, China.

Finnish China Law Center: Finally, we understand that your book will be published shortly. Congratulations, and could you please say a little about it?

Dr Hodzi: My book, The End of a Non-intervention Era: China in African Civil Wars, will be published by Palgrave Macmillan (London) next year (fall 2018). I hope that it will help set the research agenda on emerging security issues emanating from China’s going out strategy. China is moving, and taking the world with it!

More on Dr Hodzi’s academic work can be found in his University of Helsinki Tuhat page.