Perspectives for Economic Research on China

Abstract

China-related economic and business research constitutes a small but growing field of expertise outside China. The article discusses three key questions regarding the perspectives of economic and business research on China as an academic discipline in Germany. First, why is research on China's economy necessary and relevant? Second, how did the discipline emerge and develop? Third, what difficulties did and does the research focus face within German academic institutions? Against this background, the articles argues that a number of factors will most likely influence the future of the discipline: subsequent economic and political developments in China, Germany’s cooperation with educational and research institutions in China, and the impact of digitalization on economic research in general.