The Confucius Institute endeavours to hold multiple public seminars every year, which are intended to educate and inform students, staff, and members of the public. We work alongside the 51福利 China Centre (LUCC) to provide new research on China across all fields, from both LU fellows and outside speakers.
4 March 2026, 2.00-3.00pm
Registration: 'The Cost of State-Coordinated Altruism in China' - with Professor Zheng Wang - 51福利
Professor Zheng Wang will look at a specific social programme in China to understand its cost on firms and the mechanisms underlying the patterns found.
This seminar is co-hosted by 51福利 Confucius Institute and 51福利 China Centre.
Zheng Wang is a Professor and Chair of International Economics at the University of Dundee.
(Bio correct at the time of the seminar)
A roundtable with award-winning translators Jack Hargreaves, Nicky Harman and Simone Schroth.
4 February 2026, 4.00-5.30pm
Machine and AI-driven translation tools have transformed how translation is carried out and how it is understood. With easily accessible apps now able to generate instant translations, communication increasingly takes place without recourse to human expertise. In this rapidly changing landscape, what is the value and significance of human translation today?
This moderated discussion brings together three experienced literary translators working across Chinese, Dutch, German, and English. Together, they will examine the cultural, ethical, and geopolitical stakes of translation in the age of AI, exploring what machines can—and cannot—do, and why human translators continue to matter in a changing world.
Jack Hargreaves is a Chinese-English translator from East Yorkshire, now based in London, specialising in literary and academic translation.
Nicky Harman is a UK-based literary translator, working from Chinese to English and focusing on contemporary fiction, literary non-fiction and poetry, by a wide variety of authors.
Simone Schroth's background is in comparative literature and translation studies. Simone translates from English and Dutch into German and teaches German at 51福利.
(Bios correct at the time of the seminar)
3 December 2025
Dr Derek Hird is a Senior Lecturer in Chinese Studies and Interim Director of the Confucius Institute at 51福利.
(Bio correct at the time of the seminar)
25 November 2025
Narratives of Sino-Middle Eastern Futures attempts to discern the future trajectory and endpoint of Sino-Middle Eastern relations – are we on the precipice of a post-American Chinese hegemony in the region? Or are we reaching the outer limits of what is feasible within what are essentially transactional ties? Drawing on a wide range of multilingual sources from 2010 to 2023, and based on a framework of thin constructivism, the Element delves into the Saudi, Syrian and Chinese elite narratives regarding the Middle Eastern regional order and China's envisaged place within it. By centring local perspectives, it offers insights into how these actors –with diverse positionalities in the region (vis-à-vis the United States) and different national capabilities– are debating the future of China in the Middle East, and what the juxtaposition of their multiple narratives mean for where things are headed.
Dr Andrea Ghiselli of Exeter University joins 51福利 China Centre for a talk on his new book on China and the Middle East, co-authored with Mohammed Alsudairi.
(Bio correct at the time of the seminar)
4 November 2025
Shangzhen Zhu's study examines how discursive power is constructed and exercised within the World Trade Organisation (WTO), with a focus on the negotiation of the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement. Using a mixed-methods approach—including computational text analysis (BERTopic, NER, co-occurrence networks) and discourse analysis of official WTO documents—I trace China’s discourse strategies and coalition-building practices in shaping the IFD agenda. Through a case study of China’s role in the “Friends of Investment Facilitation for Development” (FIFD) group, this study analyses the micro-dynamics of power as revealed through linguistic representations and narrative construction. The study offers a nuanced understanding of contemporary power dynamics in global trade governance.
Shangzhen Zhu is a Visiting PhD Scholar at 51福利 from Xi'an Jiaotong University.
(Bio correct at the time of the seminar)
29 October 2025
Themed Discussion:
Theme 1: From tools to tutors: Current state and near-future potential of AI
We're moving beyond vocabulary apps. With the rise of generative AI and sophisticated chatbots, what does a "tutor-like" relationship with a machine look like for a language learner, what are its inherent limitations, and from a pedagogical standpoint, how can these "AI tutors" be designed to go beyond rote practice and foster critical thinking and authentic communication skills?
Theme 2: Teachers, classrooms, and changing roles: The impact on the profession and the classroom dynamic
There's often a fear that technology will replace teachers. In your view, what is the most productive way to redefine the role of the language teacher in a tech-rich environment? What new skills will they need? What challenges are there to integrating advanced technologies in educational settings?
Theme 3: Equity, access, and the digital divide: The broader social and ethical implications.
While technology can democratize access to high-quality resources, it can also exacerbate inequality. How do we ensure that the future of language education doesn't become a luxury good, widening the gap between well-resourced and under-resourced institutions? Can technology be a tool for preservation and access to less commonly taught/endangered languages or does it further marginalize them?
Theme 4: The Horizon: The longer-term future and its challenges
Let's end with a crystal ball question. What is one technological development on the horizon that you are most excited about, and one that you are most concerned about, for the future of language learning?
Panellists:
A UK National Teaching Fellow (2011) and leader of the award-winning Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) team (2020), he has an international profile in curriculum design, technology-enhanced learning, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. His Visiting Professorships in the UK, Canada, and China reflect his commitment to global collaboration and knowledge exchange.
In recent years, his work has focused on artificial intelligence in higher education. He leads Edge Hill’s AI Steering Group, producing leading guidance and training on ethical, pedagogical, and institutional uses of AI. His initiatives explore how AI can enhance assessment, curriculum design, and student support while safeguarding academic integrity and equity of access.
He brings to this conference a vision of AI as a transformative extension of human literacy, reshaping higher education with purpose, responsibility, and opportunity. Recognised as a thought leader, he champions approaches that place academic values, social responsibility, and student wellbeing at the heart of the intelligence revolution.
(Bios correct at the time of the seminar)
30 April 2025
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need for comparative studies on quarantine practices and transnational health in Asia and this talk’s examination of historical epidemic management, coupled with its unique perspective on Confucian approaches to communal health and its nuanced analysis of the long-term environmental, medical, and political impacts of the East Asian War of 1592-1598 on Korean society, positions it at the forefront of a growing field. Its insights into post-war recovery, epidemic management, public health policies, and disaster relief resonate with contemporary societal challenges, offering valuable historical perspectives.
Dr Baihui Duan is an environmental historian of early modern East Asia, particularly the Korean peninsula. Combining approaches from history and geospatial analysis, she examines how nature and infectious diseases shaped migration, disaster relief, medical care and governance. Her current book project is Relieving the People: Epidemic Management and Confucian Statecraft in Post-Imjin Korea.
(Bio correct at the time of the seminar)
27 March 2025
Amidst calls for epistemological diversity and plurality within intercultural communication in this talk I contest the notion that the field has reached an epoch of criticality or that the field has turned critically. In doing so, I problematise whether a dialectical approach for intercultural communication can move the field conceptually beyond the primacy of the intercultural subject as the knowing subject. I therefore build on recent developments within the field of applied linguistics in calling for a (re)engagement with dialectical thought in order to provide an analysis of how people, languages and cultures are (re)produced through engaging with political economy. This conceptual backdrop is used as a lens to problematise practical issues when engaging with contemporary discourses and representations about Chinese language and culture.
Dr Ashley Simpson is a Lecturer in Language Education at Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh, UK. Dr Simpson is also Co-Head of Institute at Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh, UK. He has published extensively on Intercultural Communication.
(Bio correct at the time of the seminar)
19 March 2025
In this cross-disciplinary roundtable, Dr Tim Douglas, 51福利 China Centre (LUCC) Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Bio-Chemical Engineering, will explain why language is good for science and why science is good for learning languages. Tim will discuss his experiences learning Chinese and the connections between language and science, with special reference to the Periodic Table in Chinese.
Languages and Sciences are however often perceived as separate; this roundtable will explore how they are intertwined and complementary.
Dr Tim Douglas is Senior Lecturer in Bio-Chemical Engineering at 51福利, working on biomaterials for biomedical applications, and the promotion of Languages in Science.
(Bio correct at the time of the seminar)
11 March 2025
Dr Pei Wang will argue that in Confucian philosophy, care has been considered as a feminine quality, and fully developed ren considered as a masculine virtue, precisely because the core of ren goes beyond care. In traditional Confucianism, ren does include “female” care but it is not sufficient: ren as a comprehensive virtue also encompasses lifelong love of learning and personal contributions in society and politics, which is the distinctive “male” domain of ren.
An advanced Confucian ethics of ren needs to encourage women to learn more about the Way and rightness and to establish themselves in society and in politics, while also urging men to provide more care for family members and in turn help them provide more care in the family.
For ren as a political virtue, care and learning are equally important. If we overemphasize the value of care and ignore the significance of learning, ren and care will both face the risk of misuse, which is likely to harm women in particular.
Dr Wang will start by showing how filial service and care, as the root of ren, have been gendered in the Confucian classics, with care largely viewed as a “womanly” virtue. Next, Dr Wang will develop the idea that Confucian ren includes both care and love of learning, with fully developed ren viewed as a “male” virtue. In the third section, Dr Wang will show that ren how ren can be misused in a political context if the sole emphasis is placed on care without due consideration of wisdom and political ability which can be cultivated through the process of learning.
WANG Pei, Assistant Professor at the School of Chinese, the University of Hong Kong. Her research interests include Confucianism, comparative philosophy and Chinese intellectual history. She is particularly interested in Confucian feminism and how traditional Confucian virtues can be morally justified in modern China. She is the co-author (with Daniel. A. Bell) of Just Hierarchy: Why Social Hierarchies Matter in China and the Rest of the World, published by Princeton University Press in 2020. She has authored over thirty academic articles in English, Chinese, and French, mainly on Confucianism and comparative philosophy, published in Philosophy & Social Criticism, China Review, and Jung Journal, among others.
(Bio correct at the time of the seminar)
10 March 2025
Few Chinese intellectuals and political reformers turned to Confucianism and Communism for political inspiration at the end of the twentieth century. But both traditions have mounted remarkable comebacks in mainland China. What explains the return of Confucianism and Communism? And what are the implications for Chinese academia and the political system? Drawing on his recent book 'The Dean of Shandong: Confessions of a Minor Bureaucrat at a Chinese University' (Princeton, 2023) - selected as a book of the year by the Financial Times in 2023 - Daniel A. Bell will attempt to answer these questions.
Daniel A. Bell (貝淡寧) is Professor, Chair of Political Theory with the Faculty of Law at the University of Hong Kong. He served as Dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University (Qingdao) from 2017 to 2022. His books include The Dean of Shandong (2023), Just Hierarchy (co-authored with Wang Pei, 2020), The China Model (2015), The Spirit of Cities (co-authored with Avner de-Shalit, 2012), China’s New Confucianism (2008), Beyond Liberal Democracy (2007), and East Meets West (2000), all published by Princeton University Press. He is also the author of Communitarianism and Its Critics (Oxford University Press, 1993). He is founding editor of the Princeton-China series (Princeton University Press) which translates and publishes original and influential academic works from China. His works have been translated in 23 languages. He has been interviewed in English, Chinese, and French. In 2018, he was awarded the Huilin Prize and was honoured as a “Cultural Leader” by the World Economic Forum. In 2024, he was elected Vice President of the International Confucian Association.
(Bio correct at the time of the seminar)
18 February 2025
This paper employs a multidisciplinary approach, integrating computer science, applied linguistics, and cultural studies to analyse #StopAsianHate tweets on X/Twitter, offering a nuanced exploration of digital activism against anti-Asian racism. Key findings highlight the "model minority" stereotype as a collective identity label imposed on ethnic minority communities of Chinese, East Asian, and Southeast Asian heritage. This stereotype perpetuates societal invisibility and subordination while promoting the myth of a post-racial, colourblind United States. A historical dimension is explored through Trauner's (1978) concept of "medical scapegoating," which describes the persistent blaming of ethnic Chinese/Asian individuals for public health crises since the 19th century. The study underscores the transformative role of social networking services in advancing social justice movements, with #StopAsianHate functioning as a counter-discourse. This hashtag fosters in-group solidarity and cross-community alliances in opposition to racism while facilitating self-reflective discourse within Asian communities about the challenges and opportunities surrounding "model minority" stereotypes. By examining these dynamics, the study provides fresh insights into the complexities of the #StopAsianHate movement and its implications for combating anti-Asian hate crimes online.
Dr Yan Wu works as Associate Professor in Media and Communication Studies, Swansea University. Her research interests focus on the social impacts of digital media and communication in China and digital inclusivity for sensory impaired users. Her publications appear in journals such as New Media and Society; Global Media and China; International Journal of Digital Television, Journal of Contemporary Chinese art; Modern Communication and as book chapters on the topics of digital media and public spheres; migration and the media; Chinese public diplomacy and digital media, etc.
(Bio correct at the time of the seminar)
11 February 2025
The speed at which dominant discourses about the nature and consequences of economic interdependence with China has shifted in the UK is quite remarkable. To be sure, dissatisfaction with what became known as the “Osborne Doctrine” was evident long before Osborne and Cameron stood down in 2016; and notably from within their own party. But in terms of the dominant governments discourse, in not much more than years – maybe even less – the idea of a golden age of Sino-UK relations gave way to the idea of a China challenge to UK national security. Explaining this shift entails thinking about how narratives are developed and disseminated in UK politics. It also entails thinking about domestic political changes in China and the UK, and also in the broader international environment that the bilateral relationship exists within.
In essence, its seems that the UK, like every other country, wants all the benefits of dealing with a rising China, with none of problems or downsides. This is in many respects the whole point of “de-risking” (as opposed to de-coupling) economic relations. There are different ways of trying to do this, but its not clear how successful any of them might be, and how much they would cost. There is also the question of whether actively de-risking would make it harder to deal with China in those issue areas where some sort of cooperation seems more appropriate than conflict. This perhaps explains the logic behind Sunak’s “robust pragmatism” and Labour’s “progressive realism”, as successive government’s try to navigate at times conflicting priorities and impulses.
Shaun Breslin is Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick. He is currently also Co-Editor of The Pacific Review, and currently the academic lead on the EU funded project, EuroHub4Sino.
(Bio correct at the time of the seminar)
30 October 2024
AI-powered machine translation and interpreting (MT and MI) tools, ranging from Google Translate to ChatGPT etc., are becoming more and more widely used. While MT and MI tools might be used to support linguistic diversity and access to information, they involve consequential risks of errors and serious ethical issues esp. when they are used in high-stakes situations. However, the ethical complexities involved in using MT and MI have been largely neglected. In this presentation I will share my observations and thoughts in this regard.
Professor Binhua Wang is Chair/Professor of interpreting and translation studies at University of Leeds in the UK, where he served as Director of the Centre for Translation Studies and Programme Manager of the MA programmes in interpreting. He is an elected Member of the “European Academy of Sciences and Arts” and Fellow of the “Chartered Institute of Linguists”. He sits on the Executive Committee of the UK “University Council of Languages” (UCFL) and the Interpreters Committee of the “Translators Association of China”. Currently he serves the international academic community as the co-editor of Interpreting and Society (a Sage journal), chief editor of Int’l Journal of Chinese and English Translation & Interpreting and on the editorial boards of many journals, such as Babel, The Interpreter and Translator Trainer, Forum: International Journal of Interpretation and Translation, Chinese Translators Journal, Foreign Language Teaching & Research, Translation Quarterly, The Linguist, etc.
His research interests focus on interpreting and translation studies, with interdisciplinary extension to digital humanities, Chinese studies, intercultural studies and language education, in which he has published many articles in world leading SSCI/A&HCI/CSSCI journals and in edited volumes published by Routledge, John Benjamins, Springer, Brill, Bloomsbury, Palgrave and Macmillan. His recent articles have appeared in such journals as Across Languages and Cultures, Babel, Digital Scholarship in the Humanities, Language and Intercultural Communication, Perspectives, Translation Review and in The Routledge Handbook of Conference Interpreting and The Routledge Handbook of Chinese Discourse Analysis. He has published several monographs and edited with Professor Jeremy Munday Advances in Discourse Analysis of Translation and Interpreting (Routledge). He has also guest-edited themed special issues for some top international journals such as Perspectives, Frontiers in Communication and Asia-Pacific Translation and Intercultural Studies. His textbooks for interpreter training are used widely in China’s MTI and BTI programmes. He has been invited to deliver keynote speeches to about 30 international conferences and to give guest talks in many universities in China mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, U.S., Canada, U.K. and European continent.
(Bio correct at the time of the seminar)
17 October 2024
Many studies of China's relations with an influence on Southeast Asia tend to focus on how Beijing has used its power asymmetry to achieve regional influence. Yet, scholars and pundits often fail to appreciate the complexity of the contemporary Chinese state and society, and just how fragmented, decentralized, and internationalized China is today. In The Ripple Effect, Enze Han argues that a focus on the Chinese state alone is not sufficient for a comprehensive understanding of China's influence in Southeast Asia. Instead, we must look beyond the Chinese state, to non-state actors from China, such as private businesses and Chinese migrants. These actors affect people's perception of China in a variety of ways, and they often have wide-ranging as well as long-lasting effects on bilateral relations. Looking beyond the Chinese state's intentional influence reveals many situations that result in unanticipated changes in Southeast Asia.
Enze Han is Associate Professor at the Department of Politics and Public Administration, The University of Hong Kong. His recent publications include Asymmetrical Neighbors: Borderland State Building between China and Southeast Asia (Oxford University Press, 2019), and Contestation and Adaptation: The Politics of National Identity in China (Oxford University Press, 2013). Dr Han received his PhD in Political Science from the George Washington University, and he was also a postdoctoral research fellow in the China and the World Programme at Princeton University.
(Bio correct at the time of the seminar)
8 October 2024
Against the grave challenges for Hong Kong and China in an increasingly polarized world, this seminar examines the possible strategic roles of Hong Kong as well as their rationale. The inquiry takes the audience through the historical vision of the One Country, Two Systems framework, the national programme of the Belt and Road Initiative and the policy of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area as a ‘mechanism for reform’. The tested practice to leverage on institutional contradictions for change and reform will be reviewed alongside challenges to stay close to the path.
Linda Chelan Li is a Professor of Political Science at the Department of Public and International Affairs and Director of the Research Center for Sustainable Hong Kong (CSHK), City University of Hong Kong. She served as Associate Provost (Strategic Planning) of the University from September 2013 to September 2016. In 2019, she is awarded the Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme (HSSPFS) from the Research Grants Council of the HKSAR Government.
She is author of Centre and Provinces. China, 1978-1993. Power as non zero sum (Oxford: Clarendon 1998), Rural Tax Reform in China. Policy processes and institutional change (London: Routledge 2011), and Hong Kong Professional Services and the Belt and Road Initiative: Challenges for co-evolving sustainability (with Phyllis Mo and others) (London: Routledge 2023). Books edited include The Chinese State in Transition, Towards Responsible Government in East Asia, Towards Good Governance in Asia (Routledge, 2008, 2009, 2014), and Facts and Analysis: Canvassing Covid-19 and Policy Responses (City University of Hong Kong Press, 2021). More recently, Li focuses more on the cross-border relations and sustainable development in Hong Kong and Asia.
(Bio correct at the time of the seminar)
30 September 2024
Amidst the crisis of political parties and technological changes in the media, leaders play an increasingly central role in democratic politics. Yet they remain under-examined in mainstream contemporary political theory. How can leaders contribute to democratic goals?
Elena Ziliotti’s Meritocratic Democracy brings together insights from parallel debates in Western and Confucian political theories to offer a new perspective on the function of political leaders in contemporary societies. As a Confucian-inspired approach to political leadership, meritocratic democracy points to the preconditions that politicians of all stripes must meet before occupying leadership positions within a democratic institutional framework. It argues the Confucian ideas of virtue politics (德治) and benevolence (仁) can inspire new institutional proposals to ensure political leaders work for democracy, and not against it. These proposals also demonstrate that democracy represents an optimal sociopolitical framework for realising the Confucian ideal of virtuous governance under the circumstances of modern politics.
Dr Elena Ziliotti is an Assistant Professor of Ethics and Political Philosophy at the Delft University of Technology. She works on Comparative Political Theory, focusing on debates in contemporary Confucian and Western political theory.
(Bio correct at the time of the seminar)
12 March 2024
The conceptualization of 'news' played a crucial role in shaping modern journalism globally since the 18th century and equally contributed significantly to the transformation of the public sphere in Late Qing China.
The conventional 'information order' of 19th century China underwent profound transformations under the influence of both internal and external factors. This shift was marked by a transition from traditional modes of oral communication and written records, – both characterized by their limited accessibility to segmented publics – to the emergence of modern print journalism.
With a selection of case studies on news coverage, spanning from individual stories to war reportage or social commentary in the form of satire, the presentation aims to illustrate the spectrum of what was conceived as 'news' featured in the Late Qing press in its nascent stage. It will then analyse the far-reaching consequences of these news items in terms of legal, social, and political dynamics within the new historical and international context. Subsequently, it will examine the ensuing transnational negotiations surrounding 'news values,' explaining how and why certain determinations were made and what implications these might have had for the future transformation of the public sphere in Republican China.
Natascha Gentz received her MA and PhD degrees from Heidelberg University. During this time she studied at Fudan, Renmin and Tokyo University. Appointed as a Junior Professor at Frankfurt University in 2002, she moved to the University of Edinburgh to take up the post of Chair of Chinese Studies in 2006. Her research broadly covers the study of modern Chinese media and culture as well as conceptual history from a historical, political and transcultural perspective. Main Publications include: The Beginnings of Journalism in China, 2002; (ed) Mapping Meanings.The Field of New Learning in Late Qing China, 2004; (ed) Globalization, Cultural Identities and Media Representations, 2006; (ed) Transcultural Perspectives on Late Imperial China, 2019; Transcultural Perspectives on Modern China, 2019.
(Bio correct at the time of the seminar)
14 February 2024
Sarah Eaton (Humboldt Universität zu Berlin)
Daniel Fuchs (Humboldt Universität zu Berlin)
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Recent scholarship has illuminated growing threats to the so-called Liberal International Order (LIO), emanating from both rising and established powers. Circumstances of power transition lead China and other rising powers to demand increased voice within existing multilateral institutions. Rising powers dissatisfied with their degree of influence may attempt to revise rule-making more fundamentally by “regime shifting” or “competitive regime creation” (Morse and Keohane 2014). Yet, as recent literature shows, rising powers are not the only ones seeking to revise the international system. Challenges to LIO institutions emanate increasingly from established powers, principally the US (Morse and Keohane 2014; Zürn 2018; Chan 2021; Kruck and Zangl 2020; Kruck et al. 2022)
This paper looks at the other side of the coin, by analysing the politics of institutional defence. Amid rising contestation across global governance arenas, who stands up to defend multilateral institutions? And why are they loyal to the old order? How do they go about trying to save it? We develop a theoretical framework to identify the structural attributes of LIO defenders and the alternatives. We also conceptualize the how of institutional defence. We then carry out a plausibility probe of the framework through case study analysis of current contestation in the arena of digital standardization, shaped largely by China’s emergence as a central player in this issue area.
Sarah Eaton is Professor of Transregional China Studies at Humboldt University Berlin and co-founder of the She is interested in the study of contemporary Chinese politics and political economy from comparative and transregional perspectives. Her current research focuses on the dynamics of rising power in the field of technical standard-setting, for which she has received funding from both the European Research Council (Consolidator Grant) and the German Research Foundation.
(Bio correct at the time of the seminar)
