The CES 2008 China Conference was held on April 17-19 at Nankai University, Tianjin, China. The weather was unseasonably warm, which prompted the full bloom of flowers on campus and an early spring. Many CES members took time out of their teaching schedule to attend the annual event. With the full support of our local host, the Conference went smoothly and was very well attended.
There were three internationally renowned scholars speaking on issues that are timely and of great interest to China. Professor Arnold Harberger (UCLA) talked about the common misconception of what the real exchange rate was, the role of the central bank when faced with an influx of foreign exchange, and pointed out the faulty claim of Western economists that China had been manipulating its exchange rate. Professor T.N. Srinivasan (Yale University) talked about how the China Dragon was leading the India Elephant, but warned that unless China hastens it’s institutional reforms, India may as yet catch up in the long run. Professor Schive (Shih Hsin University, Taiwan) discussed the prospects of the cross-Strain economic collaboration following the change of political regime in Taiwan.
One of the distinguishing features of this year’s conference was the careful construction of six Policy Roundtables. Each roundtable focuses on a different critical and timely issue facing China. Each roundtable was chaired by a distinguished moderator, plus a panel of experts. The interest was very high, as the small auditorium that seats 150 was filled to the brim, with almost the same number of people standing on the side and the back.
Even though the conference was moved up to April (from the originally planned late June) due to the Olympics, the Board and Organizing Committee worked very hard to put together the program. In addition to the six roundtables, we also had 42 concurrent sessions; of which 38 were in English and 4 in Chinese. The conference boasted of 156 English papers, and another 17 in Chinese.
At the banquet on the evening of the 18th, besides enjoying the abundant food provided by our host, we also celebrated the 50th wedding anniversary of Anita and Arnold Harberger. This was followed by a captivating special concert by the internationally renowned Nankai Student Choir. Both the banquet and the concert were greatly appreciated by all that attended.
We greatly appreciate our local host, Nankai University; especially the School of Economics. The conference facility was superb, the conference staff support (many are honor students of the School) was top notch, and the hospitality was next to none. Without them, this conference would not have been possible.
Though the China Conference is over, we are busy planning the CES 2008 North America Conference. We hope our members will consider joining us in Canada (University of Regina)!!!
