On May 30, NYU Shanghai brought together nearly 30 scholars and policy researchers from China and abroad for a full-day exchange on development finance, international institutions, and China’s evolving role in global governance.
The Workshop on Development Finance and Global Economic Governance, co-organized by NYU Shanghai, the University of Geneva, and the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, welcomed participants from institutions across North America, Europe, the Middle East, East Asia, and China. Convened by Assistant Professor of Political Science Qian Jing, the workshop was part of a broader effort to develop NYU Shanghai as a platform for sustained scholarly exchange on international political economy, development finance, sovereign debt, and global economic governance.
Unlike a conventional academic workshop centered on paper presentations, the event was designed around a series of conversations, with sessions focused on local and policy perspectives, emerging research agendas, journal and research infrastructure, cross-field dialogue, and future collaboration. The format encouraged participants at different career stages and from different research communities to discuss how scholarship on development finance and global governance can better connect across disciplines, regions, and policy worlds.
“NYU Shanghai is uniquely positioned to convene conversations that would be difficult to organize elsewhere,” said Qian. “This workshop was not only about presenting research. It was about creating a space where Chinese and international scholars, junior and senior researchers, and academic and policy communities could speak to each other more directly.”
The workshop served as the culminating event of a week-long Beijing–Shanghai program, with a delegation of nearly a dozen international scholars from around the world convening for workshops and field visits to the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the New Development Bank, and the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies. These visits gave international scholars an opportunity to engage with “Global China” not only through academic research, but also through first-hand conversations with institutions and policy communities. Participants discussed topics including multilateral development banks, infrastructure finance, sustainable development, and the changing global financial architecture.
The workshop also built on earlier NYU Shanghai initiatives, including the December 2025 Workshop on Sovereign Debt and Development Finance and the Spring 2026 NYU Shanghai International and Comparative Political Economy Speaker Series. Together, these activities reflect a growing effort to establish NYU Shanghai as a convening hub for research and dialogue on global economic governance.
Looking ahead, organizers hope the workshop will lead to continued collaboration, including future workshops, conference panels, research networks, and policy-facing exchanges.