China’s Stability at Risk: Economic, Social and Environmental Challenges
Practical information
As economic jitters and environmental mismanagement are fueling social protest in China, this seminar will examine how these factors can eventually undermine economic and political stability in the country. Asian, European and American experts will gather to share their views on the economic, social and environmental challenges China is facing and what strategies are being adopted to tackle it.
9:00-9:15: Welcoming remarks
9:15-10:45: Assessing the Economic “New Normal” in China
Chair: Margit MOLNAR, Head of China Desk, OECD
"Diagnosing Chinese Economy"
Toshiya TSUGAMI, Tsugami Workshop
"China's Economic Strategies in Black Swan Lake"
Bo CHEN, Professor and Executive Director of FTZ - Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Olivier DE BOYSSON, Deputy Director and Chief Economist Emerging Economies, Société Générale (Discussant)
Françoise NICOLAS, Director, Center for Asian Studies, Ifri (Discussant)
11:00-12:30: Social and environmental tensions: how to ensure a stable China?
Chair: Françoise NICOLAS, Director, Center for Asian Studies, Ifri
"Re-conceptualizing China's civil society sector"
Andreas FULDA, Professor, The University of Nottingham:
"The Shifting Boundaries of Environmental Activism in China"
Elizabeth C. ECONOMY, C.V. Starr Senior Fellow and Director for Asia Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
“Urbanisation of Capital and Dispossession of Rights”
Hyun Bang SHIN, Associate Professor, London School of Economics (LSE)
“Three birds, one stone? China’s low-carbon transition as a catalyst for economic transformation, environmental sustainability, and social stability”
John SEAMAN, Research Fellow, Center for Asian Studies, Ifri
Other events
One Month Ahead of the Midterms: Where Is Trump’s America Headed?
The 24th edition of the Ifri Americas Programme Annual Conference will examine the dynamics at play in the United States and their implications for Europe and the transatlantic relationship. will examine the dynamics at play in the United States and their implications for Europe and the transatlantic relationship.
France-Ukraine Forum 2026
More than four and a half years after the start of the full-scale war launched by Russia against Ukraine, the 2026 France-Ukraine Forum will bring together policymakers, experts, academics, and civil society representatives from both countries to discuss three main topics: the formats and conditions for a lasting diplomatic settlement; Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration, encompassing both the EU accession process and closer ties with NATO; and the societal transformations of postwar Ukraine, as well as its prospects for reconstruction.
The EU in a World of Economic Warfare: Trade, Geopolitics, and the Battle for Economic Sovereignty
The international trading system has become a primary theatre of geopolitical competition. Tariffs, sanctions, and technology controls have replaced dialogue as the default instruments of economic relations.