International Workshop on Regulation, Governance, and Innovation

The University of Chicago Center in Beijing
20th floor, Culture Plaza
No. 59A Zhong Guan Cun Street
Haidian District Beijing 100872

The Workshop on Regulation, Governance, and Innovation was held on December 12–13 as a closed, invitation-only academic meeting, bringing together approximately 25 scholars from leading universities in China, the United States, Europe, and Hong Kong. Hosted by the University of Chicago Beijing Center, the workshop aimed to foster in-depth, interdisciplinary dialogue on the evolving relationship between regulatory systems, governance structures, and innovation amid rapid technological change and global economic restructuring.

The workshop opened with welcoming remarks by Professor Dali Yang of the University of Chicago, who highlighted the growing importance of cross-disciplinary perspectives and comparative analysis in understanding contemporary governance challenges. Throughout the first day, participants engaged in sustained discussions on a wide range of topics, including foundational issues in regulation and governance, public health and risk supervision, central–local regulatory relations, elite mobility and judicial institutions, as well as digital governance and financial regulation. Drawing on empirical research and theoretical insights, speakers examined how regulatory authority is constructed, distributed, and transformed across different policy domains and political systems, and how these processes shape innovation outcomes in both national and global contexts.

Several presentations focused on risk classification, trust in regulatory systems, and experiential forms of governance, offering new conceptual lenses for understanding regulatory behavior. Others addressed lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in relation to public health governance, food safety regulation, and institutional reform. Discussions on central–local relations and platform regulation highlighted the complexity of regulatory decentralization and state–platform interactions in China, while analyses of elite governance and courts shed light on the political logic underpinning institutional control and administrative capacity. The final sessions turned to emerging challenges in digital governance and financial regulation, examining the role of algorithms, regulatory adaptation, and institutional design in shaping innovation in fintech and capital markets.

The second day of the workshop was devoted to research exchange and future planning. In an open and collegial setting, participants reflected on common research interests, explored potential avenues for collaboration, and discussed how comparative and interdisciplinary approaches could further advance the study of regulation, governance, and innovation. The small-scale, closed format of the workshop facilitated candid exchange and deep engagement, allowing participants to move beyond formal presentations to sustained intellectual dialogue.

Overall, the workshop underscored the value of creating dedicated academic platforms that break down disciplinary silos and connect scholars working on shared governance challenges. By convening experts from diverse backgrounds and institutional contexts, the University of Chicago Beijing Center provided a productive space for advancing research on global governance and innovation and for laying the foundation for continued scholarly collaboration.