China's Two Sessions

Join University of Sydney and ANU academics for a roundtable discussion of the significance of China’s Two Sessions—the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference which have recently completed. Minglu Chen, David Goodman, Ben Herscovitch and Ben Hillman will discuss the Government Work Report and policy statements addressing foreign policy, economic and social development. Panelists will speak for 5-10 minutes followed by Q&A. The roundtable is co-hosted by The Australian National University’s Australian Centre on China in the World and University of Sydney China Studies Centre.

Speakers (Alphabetical by Surname)

- Minglu Chen is a senior lecturer in the Department of Government and International Relations and a member of the China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. Her research concentrates on social and political changes in China, especially the interaction between entrepreneurs and the state and women’s political participation. She has published her research in The China Quarterly, The China Journal and Journal of Contemporary China. She is the author of Tiger Girls: Women and Enterprises in the People’s Republic of China (Routledge 2011).

- Benjamin Herscovitch is a Research Fellow at the ANU’s School of Regulation and Global Governance and the National Security College, where he focuses on China’s economic statecraft and Australia-China relations. He is a member of the ANU Working Group on Geoeconomics. Prior to joining ANU, Benjamin was an analyst and policy officer in the Department of Defence, specialising in China’s external policy and Australia’s defence diplomacy. He was previously a researcher for Beijing-based thank-tanks and consultancies.

- David S G Goodman is Director of the China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, where he is also Professor of Chinese Politics. He researches local social and political change in China. Prof Goodman’s most recent publication is Class and the Communist Party of China published this year in two volumes – vol1 1921-1978: Revolution and Social Change; and vol2 1978-2021: Reform and Market Socialism –Together with Marc Blecher, Yingjie Guo, Jean-Louis Rocca, Tony Saich, and Beibei Tang. Prof Goodman is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia; and an Emeritus Professor at both Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in Suzhou, and the University of Technology Sydney.

- Moderator: Ben Hillman is a political scientist, public policy researcher, and advisor, and is the Director of the Australian Centre on China in the World (CIW). Ben is a specialist in politics, public policy, and public administration in China. More broadly his research examines policies and mechanisms for promoting political inclusion and safeguarding minority rights. Ben is the author or editor of six books on China, including Patronage and Power (Stanford University Press, 2014), Conflict and Protest in Tibet and Xinjiang (Columbia University Press, 2016), and Political and Social Control in China (World Scientific Press 2022).