About Us

Established in 1997, the China Economy Program is part of the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University. Home to resident academic experts and emerging doctoral and masters’ scholars, the program draws upon expertise from across Crawford School and ANU and links to an extensive network of the region’s most influential specialists on China and the Chinese economy. Maintaining a diverse set of research initiatives, these experts incorporate expertise in economics, public policy, and policy analysis to work to identify the most important trends in China’s economic development and assess their implications for Australia, China, and the region more broadly.

The China Economy Program maintains an active program of conferences, seminars and publications that serves as a forum for dialogue on the program’s ongoing research projects and as a vehicle for the dissemination of research results. A diverse array of domestic and regional experts from the academy, think tanks, government, and the business world count themselves as research associates of the program. Details of new and current research projects can be found on the research page.

Recently celebrating its 20th anniversary, the China Economy Program produces the annual China Update volume, which has emerged over the years as Australia’s premier academic publication for in-depth discussion and analysis of the Chinese economy. The volume’s 18th edition, a sweeping retrospective of the past 40 years of economic reform in China between 1978 – 2018, was ANU Press’ second most downloaded volume of 2020, the highest in the Asia-Pacific category with over 57,000 downloads. The launch of each year’s volume is accompanied by the China Update conference, ANU’s flagship forum for the discussion of issues related to China’s economy and its ramifications for Australia and the region. Held over two days, the event typically features a mix of public and private events, including a public forum, book launch and high-level roundtable attended by prominent scholars, business leaders, diplomats, and government experts.

Visit the ANU Press website for full, free access to past issues of the China Update Series.

The program gratefully acknowledges the support of its official sponsor BHP.

For more detailed information on upcoming program events and activities please contact Program Manager, Tim Cronin at tim.cronin@anu.edu.au