The China Governance Workshop, is a recurring seminar series that brings together leading scholars from around the world to examine the evolving relationship between the Chinese state, nonprofit organizations, and civil society. Through presentations on philanthropy, regulation, volunteering, international NGOs, and social policy, the series highlights cutting-edge research on governance in China, fostering dialogue on how state institutions, market forces, and civic actors interact in an authoritarian context.
Regulating Nonprofit Organizations in China: History and Present, May 13, 2025
Xiaoyun Wang examines how privatization reforms have reshaped nonprofit regulation in China, shifting from command-and-control to more complex forms of governance.
Global Civil Society and China: Challenges and Prospects, April 10, 2025
Anthony Spires explores the evolving relationship between global civil society and China, highlighting its challenges, impacts, and prospects for change.
Orchestrating Volunteer Service for State Interests: An Inquiry of Volunteering in Contemporary China, March 13, 2025
Ming Hu analyzes how the Chinese state integrates volunteering into governance, transforming it into a tool for ideological and political aims.
Looking at Chinese Foundations with a Western Lens, February 27, 2025
Stefan Toepler discusses the limits of applying Western models to Chinese foundations and identifies new directions for philanthropic research.
Welcome to China? Foreign Donations and Domestic Contributions, December 17, 2024
Huafang Li investigates how foreign donations shape domestic giving and government support for nonprofits in authoritarian contexts.
14th Five-Year Plan for Social Organization Development: China’s Nonprofit Sector in Transition, November 7, 2024
Qun Wang examines how China’s 14th Five-Year Plan is transforming the nonprofit sector and reshaping state–society relations.
NGOs as Policy Entrepreneurs: Transnational Advocacy and Mechanisms for Greening the Belt and Road Initiative, October 15, 2024
Hui Li and May Farid explore the role of NGOs in shaping environmental governance within China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Enforcing Boundaries: China's Overseas NGO Law and Operational Constraints for Global Civil Society, September 17, 2024
Meng Ye and Andrew Heiss analyze how China’s Overseas NGO Law has redefined the space for international nonprofits and civic engagement.
The Impact of Digital Management on Volunteer Outcomes, August 13, 2024
Hui Yin presents research on how digital tools for volunteer management can both empower and constrain nonprofit outcomes in China.
Government Funding and Nonprofit Performance: Exploring the mediating roles of Private Donations, Volunteers and Network Quality, May 7, 2024
Shen Yongdong investigates how government funding influences nonprofit performance in China through donations, volunteers, and networks.
The Future of Philanthropy and Volunteerism in China, April 8, 2024
Reza Hasmath explores why Chinese citizens remain hesitant to engage in philanthropy and volunteerism despite state promotion of “model citizenship.”
Creating a Culture of Philanthropy and Volunteerism in Contemporary China, March 26, 2024
Jessica Teets discusses how state messaging on “common prosperity” intersects with rising trends in philanthropy and volunteerism among Chinese citizens.
The New Central Social Affairs Department of the Chinese Communist Party and its Impact on Social Policy in China, January 24, 2024
Mark Sidel reviews the creation of the Chinese Communist Party’s new Central Social Affairs Department and its implications for China’s social policy.
Affective Lockdown: Administrative Chaos and Informal Repairing in the Local Enactment of Immobility in Urban China, January 23, 2024
Yan Long reveals how frontline workers used emotional and informal practices to sustain neighborhood governance during China’s COVID-19 lockdowns.