Call for abstracts/papers:

(Competitive call for speakers/authors, in addition to invited ones)

 Seminar on

Sustainable Development and the Belt and Road Initiative

Sustainability and the Private Economy

Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

Dec. 11-12, 2021(on-site and online)

Sponsored by: Ministry of Science and Technology, Senior Foreign Experts Project

Executive organizers:

Centre for Research of Private Economy, Zhejiang University

School of Economics, Zhejiang University

Ningbo Centre for Science and Technology Innovation, ZJU

The aim of the seminar:

Amidst the increasing globalization of the world economy, remarkable changes took place in the fourth quarter of the past century and at the beginning of the new Millennium. Particularly outstanding have been the market development and reform in China, and the transition from a planned economy to a market economy in the former Soviet Union and the Central and East European countries, including some central Asian countries. Other emerging countries have successfully followed similar paths. The forceful expansion and growth of the private economy have played an important role in driving the changes, together with a new role of the state and governments. Thanks to this outstanding development of the private economy in China and other transition countries, hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty and moved towards higher standards of living. These processes contributed importantly to the continuous growth of the world economy.

There is a strong relationship between the expanding private economy and economic and social sustainability. Indeed, the booming private economy has contributed significantly to sustained economic and social development, more effective and efficient business practices, better social governance, effective private-public partnership, while creating an optimistic business environment and supporting innovation and the transition to the digital economy , in China and other transition countries.

The seminar will contribute to a better knowledge and understanding of the relation between the development of the private economy and, within it, particularly of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) in China and Russia, East Europe. It will also deal with the development of the digital and the platform economy in these countries and the role that it played in upgrading the organization and competitiveness of SMEs, thus enabling a diffused and sustainable economic and social development.

The seminar will deal with the following topics. Please notice that the list is not exhaustive of the topics: we encourage contributors to take the initiative and propose novel topics.

1. Constructing the digital platform for regulating SMEs fair competition and innovation;

2. Live-streaming sales (live stream marketing) and the digital transformation of SMEs;

3. Research on monopoly and competition of digital economy platform;

4. Data sharing, data security and digital credit in the digital transformation of SMEs;

5. Development of SMEs and opportunities for industrial cooperation between China and Russia, East European Countries;

6. China and Russia SMEs’ participation in reconstructing GVCs in digital era

7. The concepts of sustainability and the private economies

8. The role of non-governmental chambers of commerce in sustained business environmental governance

9. European SMEs help the economy emerge from the international crisis

10. The private economy and sustained innovation

11. The private economy and sustained urban-rural integration

12. Green development of the private economies and sustainability

13. Legislative issues of sustainability and private economies

14. Sustained social harmony and private economies

15. Special case or general paper from Russia,

16. Special case or general paper from Korea

17. Special case or chapter from Hungary

18. Special case or chapter from Kazakhstan

Date Deadline for abstract submission: Oct. 30, 2021

Date Deadline for paper submission: Nov. 30, 2021

 Submission contacts:

Ms. Yanan Zhang, crpe@zju.edu.cn, + 86 571 87952835

Mr. Chong He, 11801009@zju.edu.cn, + 86 13163240308

Publication plan:

Contributions will be submitted to the judgement of the scientific committee, for possible publication by Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.