Digital China Seminar
Image: ChatGBT
Welcome to the Digital China Seminar, hosted by the REPAIR project!
Time: August 11, at 13.00-16.00 (EEST).
Place: University of Helsinki, Main Building, U3032 (Unioninkatu 34) and online
Register by August 4: https://www.lyyti.in/Digital_China_Seminar_0529
In this seminar we will delve into the rapid urbanization and digital advancements reshaping Chinese cities, with a focus on sustainable urbanization as a pivotal challenge for China's future development. Our keynote speaker, Professor Yijia Jing, will present a case study examining how digital technologies are revolutionizing public governance in Metropolis Shanghai. The seminar will also feature presentations by researchers from the REPAIR project and University of Helsinki.
Programme
13:00 Opening words: Minna van Gerven (Professor, Social and Public Policy, University of Helsinki)
13:10 Keynote: Yijia Jing: Digital transformation and urban governance: A Case study of “Government Online-Offline Shanghai” (Professor, Institute for Global Public Policy, Fudan University)
Quick urbanization has greatly changed China’s development context and made sustainable urbanization a key challenge for China’s future developments. Leading Chinese cities have been undergoing digital transformation to achieve good urban governance. This report uses the Metropolis Shanghai as a case to discuss how China’s urban governments adopt digital technologies to improve public governance and to respond to increasingly complex, diverse, and demanding citizen needs. Specifically, the report analyses the “Government Online-offline Shanghai” project as a counterpart to smart city projects of those cities like New York, London and Seoul. This report highlights how modern digital technologies may be adopted in the Chinese context and discusses the general implications of this China case.
14.00 Zhuo Chen (Doctoral Researcher, University of Helsinki): Platform or Utility? Chasing the knowledge, technology, and materiality of City Brain in Hangzhou, China
14:15 Jingwen Gan (Doctoral Researcher, University of Helsinki): Shuttle Through Complexity: Financial Lives of Older Adults in Shanghai Seen Through Everyday Application Uses
14:30 Coffee break
15:00 Matti Ylönen (Academy Research Fellow, Political Science, University of Helsinki): Contested Digital Economic Sovereignties
15:30 Researchers of REPAIR project: TBC
15:50 Discussion
Keynote speaker
Prof. Yijia Jing is a Chang Jiang Scholar, Seaker Chan Chair Professor in Public Management, Dean of the Institute for Global Public Policy, Co-Director of LSE-Fudan Research Centre for Global Public Policy, and Director of Fudan-Arab Research Centre for Global Development and Governance, Fudan University. He got his BA/MA in Economics from Peking University, MA in Sociology from University of Maryland College Park, and Ph.D. in Public Policy from the Ohio State University. Jing conducts research on privatization, governance, social organizations, and collaborative service delivery, and publishes on top journals like Public Administration Review, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, and Governance.