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Kiel Institute China Initiative

The Kiel Institute China Initiative aims at closing the gap in economic research on China in Germany. We are building a network of experts working on China's economy in academia and policy advice both within and outside Europe. Our aim is to exchange research results, build research initiatives and develop joint projects to intensify academic and policy debates. The Kiel Institute China Initiative aims to connect scholars working on China in the global economy and supports them with the know-how of the IfW Kiel Centres Communication, Event and Grant. Cooperation partners are the Centre for Modern East Asian Studies at Göttingen University and the China Centre at the University of Kiel.  

In cooperation with the Centre for Modern East Asian Studies at the University of Göttingen, KOF Swiss Economic Institute at ETH Zurich and TH Wildau, the China Initiative organises the monthly "Global China Conversations". Read more: 

The initiative reacts to China's prominent role in the global economy. For the last decade, the country has been the world's largest exporter. It is Europe's second most important export destination after the United States. This deserves special attention because the Chinese state plays a much larger role in economic activities, development planning and economic diplomacy than is the case in Europe. On the one hand, China and Europe have a common interest in defending the multilateral, rules-based global economic order; on the other hand, European companies complain of unfair competition and lack of access to the Chinese market. We pay particular attention to China's global development strategy, Belt and Road Initiative, which links China to more than 150 countries through a "belt" of infrastructure development and investment projects. This challenges the long-standing dominance of Western financiers in international development cooperation. The increase in direct investment from China and its often controversial side effects are the subject of intense public debate. The intensity of research on China in the global economy lags behind China's increasing economic importance. Despite the emerging economic power being a major player in international economic relations as a whole and in Germany and Europe in particular. 

Event Series

Online Discussion Series "China in the World Economy"

Global China Conversations

Director

  • Prof. Dr. Andreas Fuchs
    Kiel Institute Researcher

Co-Director

  • Dr. Wan-Hsin Liu
    Kiel Institute Researcher

Contact

Chinese Aid Exports Database 

This database provides data on China’s (medical and non-medical) aid exports as reported by China’s General Administration of Customs. 

Go to Chinese Aid Exports Database 

Chinas Aid Contracts

How China lends - This Study Shines a Light on Beijing’s Secretive International Lending Program.

Our Expert Report Go to Dataset (AIDDATA)

  • Project

    The then Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa visits China, 14 - 15 Jul 2015

    China in Africa: Exploring the Consequences for Economic and Social Development

    The research project studies the effects that China’s growing economic engagement has on African economies, and how China’s economic presence is…

  • News

    26.06.2025

    Financial street in Beijing, China

    How China Collaterizes: New Report Reveals Hidden Structures in Global Lending

    Today, an international team of lawyers, economists, and political scientists launched a report that sheds new light on the secured lending practices…

  • News

    14.12.2023

    Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (l.) und Xi Jinping, Präsident Chinas (r.), bei der Begrüßung in der Großen Halle des Volkes

    Cost of decoupling from China for German economy severe but not devastating

    An abrupt halt to trade with China would cause Germany's economy to shrink by 5 percent in the short run. The slump is comparable to that following…

  • News

    15.11.2022

    medical mask production

    China's global aid exports: Development assistance according to geopolitical interest

    China has been exporting aid goods worth around USD 835 million annually since 2017. These material resources are distributed by China primarily…

Events

  • 18 Dec

    2025

    Global China Conversations #45

    Between Orbit and Earth: What Role Will China Play in the Spaceflight of Tomorrow?

    Online

    With registration

  • 20 Nov

    2025

    Global China Conversations #44

    Pharma Made in China: Opportunities and Challenges for the EU Pharmaceutical Industry and Supply Security?

    Online

    With registration

  • 25 Jul

    2025

    Workshop

    Behavioral Economics

    Hybrid / Kiel Institut für Weltwirtschaft, Standort Berlin

  • 17 Jul

    2025

    Global China Conversations #43

    Industrial Policies: Do Chinese Industrial Policies Work, and What Are the Domestic and International Implications?

    Online

Team

  • Frank Bickenbach
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • Dr. Eckhardt Bode
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • Prof. Dr. Dirk Dohse
    Research Director
  • Dr. Klaus-Jürgen Gern
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • Prof. Holger Görg, Ph.D.
    Research Director
  • Prof. Aoife Hanley, Ph.D.
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • Lars Hecker
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • Prof. Dr. Sebastian Horn
    Research Director
  • Paulina Alibhai
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • Prof. Dr. Rolf J. Langhammer
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • Dr. Wan-Hsin Liu
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • Linda Maokomatanda
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • Prof. Dr. Rainer Thiele
    Kiel Institute Researcher
  • Prof. Dr. Christoph Trebesch
    Research Director

Fellows

  • Dr. Vera Eichenauer
    Kiel Institute Fellow
  • Dr. Martin Raiser
    Kiel Institute Fellow
  • Prof. Heiwai Tang
    Kiel Institute Fellow
  • Dr. Lennart Kaplan
    Kiel Institute Fellow