The School of Marxism at Shanghai University of International Business and Economics Hosted the 32nd Annual Academic Conference of the China Society of Political Economy and the 25th Symposium of the China Haipai Economics Forum

The "32nd Annual Academic Conference of the Chinese Society of Political Economy and the 25th Symposium of the China School of Economics Forum" was held from December 3 to 4 at the Gubei Campus of our university. This conference focused on "The 20th National Congress of the CPC and New Developments in Modern Political Economy." The event was co-hosted by the Chinese Society of Political Economy and our university, and organized by our university’s School of Marxism and the Center for the Study of Das Kapital and Chinese Political Economy. It was co-organized by the Center for Research on Marxist Economic and Social Development of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics Institute of the School of Economics, the editorial departments of Studies on Political Economy, World Review of Political Economy, and Haipai ^[1] Economic Studies, and the Shanghai Economic Review journal. The conference utilized a combination of online and offline formats, with over 200 experts and scholars from dozens of universities and research institutes, including CASS, Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Renmin University of China, in attendance. The opening ceremony was presided over by Professor Qin Shujuan, Dean of our School of Marxism.

Yin Yao, Secretary of the University Party Committee, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony. On behalf of the university, he first welcomed the guests and expressed gratitude to the Chinese Society of Political Economy. He stated that the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC proposed important content such as opening up a new realm of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, comprehensively advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization, and building a high-level socialist market economy system, all of which point the way for the development of Chinese political economy. This conference is an important practical measure for the university to study and implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC. He noted that since its founding, the university has offered the course "Introduction to Marxist Political Economy" for 62 years; this course has become a flagship of the School of Marxism and was among the first batch of first-class undergraduate courses in Shanghai. He expressed hope that the School of Marxism would use this conference to further enhance academic exchange, expand new avenues for future research and cooperation, and write a new chapter of development.

Professor Cheng Enfu, President of the Chinese Society of Political Economy and member of the Education, Science, Culture and Public Health Committee of the National People’s Congress ^[2], delivered a speech and a keynote report titled "Several Issues to Note in Modern Political Economy Research." He first thanked the leadership, faculty, and students of the university and the School of Marxism for their efforts in organizing this annual meeting and extended a warm welcome to the participating experts and scholars from across the country. He proposed seven expectations for the theoretical research work of the Chinese Society of Political Economy: first, to strengthen the study of the innovative development of the economic theory of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era using the principles of Marxist political economy; second, to learn from and carry forward the academic research spirit and theoretical character of the older generation of Marxist political economists, and to strengthen the exploration of the three fields of theory, methodology, and policy in modern political economy; third, to strengthen political economy research on the new international economic landscape; fourth, to strengthen political economy research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on national and global economic and social development; fifth, to strengthen the re-examination of the Soviet socialist economy; sixth, to strengthen research on the future development of the socialist economy by Western Marxist and left-wing scholars; and seventh, to strengthen comparative research between political economy and Western economics.

Following the opening ceremony, the first unit of thematic reports was presided over by Professor Wang Zhaoke, Vice President of the Chinese Society of Political Economy and professor at our School of Marxism. The second unit was presided over by Hou Weimin, Vice President of the Chinese Society of Political Economy and Research Fellow at the Institute of Marxism Studies of CASS.

Professor Jian Xinhua of Wuhan University, Professor Bai Baoli of Beijing Normal University, Professor Ma Yan of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, and Professor Ding Baojun of the School of Marxism at Zhejiang University delivered thematic speeches titled "Correctly Understanding Common Prosperity and the Paths to Its Realization," "Analyzing the Phenomenon of Price Deviating from Value Quantity Movements," "Research on the Scientific System of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era," and "A Historical Materialist Interpretation of the Path of Chinese-Path Modernization," respectively. Professor He Zili of Nankai University, Professor Wu Jianqi of Hebei University of Economics and Business, Professor Xie Fusheng, Vice Dean of the School of Economics at Renmin University of China, Professor Zhou Wen of Fudan University, and Song Chaolong, Vice Dean of the School of Marxism at Peking University, delivered reports titled "Chinese-path Modernization and the Construction of an Independent Knowledge System for Chinese Economics," "A Discussion on China’s Real Gini Coefficient under the Concept of Common Prosperity," "The Original Contributions of the New Form of Human Civilization ^[3] to Marxist Political Economy," "The Liberalist Complex of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences Should Come to an End," and "The Possibilities and Practical Paths of Integrating the Principles of Scientific Socialism into the Operating Logic of the Market Economy."

On the afternoon of December 3, nearly 50 scholars and doctoral and master's students from across the country conducted exchanges and presentations in five parallel forums: "Theoretical Research on Marxist Political Economy," "The 20th National Congress of the CPC and Economic Theoretical Innovation of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics," "Mathematical Political Economy," "The China School ^[4] of Economics: Theoretical and Policy Innovation," and a "Graduate Student Forum." The exchanges and discussions were presided over by Society Vice Presidents Professor Jiang Yongmu, Professor Qiu Haiping, and Professor Ma Yan, along with Professor Wu Shanlin and Deputy Secretary-General Yang Jing.

The thematic reports on the morning of December 4 were presided over by Professor Ding Xiaoqin, Vice Dean of the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics Institute of the School of Economics. Professor Zhang Junshan of Nankai University, Professor Zhang Xian of Sichuan University, Professor Zheng Zhiguo of the Party School of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the CPC, Professor Xie Di of Liaoning University, Professor Tai Lihua of China University of Political Science and Law, Professor Wei Xu, Director of the Editorial Department of Contemporary Economic Research, Professor Sun Shaoyong, Director of the Innovative Marxism Research Center at Northwestern Polytechnical University, and Professor Tang Juelan, Director of the Economics Department of the Shanghai Municipal Party School, focused on theoretical propositions and practical issues in the construction of modernization of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics. They conducted in-depth analytical discussions on multiple topics, including the construction of effective markets, the improvement of the modern economic system, responding to the crisis of global fragmentation, and clarifying the fallacies of "capital neutrality theory" ^[5].

The closing ceremony was presided over by Professor Zhao Lei, Vice President of the Chinese Society of Political Economy and professor at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics. Secretary-General Hou Weimin reported on the 2021 work of the Society, and Professor Bai Baoli provided a comprehensive summary of the annual meeting on behalf of the Society. Professor Yu Xiangfang, Vice Dean of our School of Marxism, delivered a vote of thanks on behalf of the organizers. Professor Song Bingtiao, Dean of the School of Economics at Henan University, delivered a speech on behalf of the host of next year's annual meeting.