Geopolitical Tensions and their Implications for Australia-China Relations in HE
- Chengxin Pan, Deakin University & University of Technology Sydney
- Anthony Welch, University of Sydney
- CHAIR: Xin Xu, University of Oxford
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In recent years, geopolitical tensions between China and western countries have grown markedly. These tensions have been exasperated by Covid-19 and the politically charged claims about its origins and China’s alleged role in allowing it to spread globally. The economic rise of China, shifts in its approach to international relations and the politics surrounding the Belt and Road Initiatives have also contributed to rising levels of anxiety globally. With respect to higher education policy, these geopolitical tensions have raised a range of complex issues relating both to China’s internationalisation agenda and also to the turbulence they have the potential to cause to various systems of higher education, such as Australia, that have become heavily reliant on international students from China, as well as to the possibilities of academic exchange and research collaboration. This webinar will consider some of these issues. As an IR scholar, Associate Professor Chengxin Pan will describe the emerging dynamics of Australia-China relations. Professor Ly Tran will discuss the implications for shifting geopolitical space for student recruitment from China, while Professor Tony Welch will examine the complexities of research collaboration between Chinese and Australian researchers.
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Dr Chengxin Pan is Associate Professor of International Relations at Deakin University and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Australia-China Relations Institute, University of Technology Sydney. He is a member of Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation and a co-editor of the Global Political Sociology book series (Palgrave Macmillan). He was an Endeavour Research Fellow at Peking University in 2016-2017, and has held visiting positions at the University of Melbourne, Fudan University, China Foreign Affairs University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, University of Macau and National Taiwan University. His book Knowledge, Desire and Power in Global Politics: Western Representations of China’s Rise (Edward Elgar, 2012) was translated and published in Chinese by Social Sciences Academic Press (SSAP) and won an SSAP Best Book Award in 2017. He has published in many international journals such as European Journal of International Relations, Review of International Studies, Politics, The Pacific Review, International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, and Australian Journal of International Affairs.
Anthony Welch is Professor of Education, University of Sydney. Numerous publications address education reforms, principally within Australia and the Asia-Pacific. A consultant to state, national and international agencies, governments, institutions and foundations, particularly in higher education, his project experience largely includes East and SE Asia. His work has been translated into a dozen languages, and he has been Visiting Professor in the USA, UK, Germany, France, Japan, Malaysia, Turkey, China, and Hong Kong, China. A Fulbright (New Century), Tübitak, INRP and DAAD Scholar, his books include Measuring Up in Higher Education (2021) International Faculty in Asia. (2021) Education, Change and Society (2018), ASEAN Industries and the Challenge from China (2011), The Professoriate: Profile of a Profession (2005), and Higher Education in South East Asia (2011). He was a consultant to the ADB project Higher Education in Dynamic Asia, and directed the ARC project, The Chinese Knowledge Diaspora (with Yang, Rui).
Xin Xu is a Research Fellow at CGHE, Department of Education, and a Junior Research Fellow at Kellogg College, University of Oxford.