When the first ECARDC conference was held in 1989, China’s opening to the outside world was already contributing significantly to the complicated processes we summarize as globalization. However, in those days it was still possible to think of Chinese village life as relatively isolated from global currents. Twenty years later such a view is no longer tenable. Mushroom harvesters on the Tibetan plateau depend on the purchasing power of Japanese middle class consumers, Yunnan flower growers gear their production to sales on Valentine’s Day, and tobacco farmers worry about WTO regulations of pesticides. Chinese farmers settle in Africa, and the global market trembles at the thought of China’s reduced self-sufficiency in food products. It is evident that the destiny of Chinese villagers and Chinese agriculture is now tied to global forces in myriads of ways.

At the 10^th ECARDC we want to explore links between the global and the local in rural China. China is often described as one of globalization’s great winners that has successfully attracted FDI, generated amazing economic growth, and created global metropolises such as Shanghai and Shenzhen. But how are the rural areas managing the challenges of globalization? Many observers predicted that China’s entry into the WTO in 2001 would generate a deep crisis for Chinese farming. While the consequences seem to have been less severe than many feared, it is useful to take stock after the first decade of WTO and to explore how global market forces affect China’s farmers, food security and the agricultural practices. We will not only be interested in economic aspects of globalization but also more broadly in its social and cultural effects on rural life.

Topics under this broad conference theme may include the following:

1. Consequences of China’s integration in global markets for the organization of agriculture and the development of agrobusinesses.
2. Who are the globalization winners and who are the losers in rural China?
3. The role of the central and local state, farmers’ organizations, and foreign and Chinese organizations and companies in the globalization of rural China.
4. Connections between rural China and specific countries or regions of the world.
5. China as a player on the global market for agricultural products. What will be the consequences of Chinese agricultural outsourcing to other developing and emerging economies?
6. How does China’s agricultural development affect the world’s agricultural markets and prices?
7. Comparative studies exploring the “Chinese characteristics” of the way in which farmers are integrated in global commodity chains.
8. The evolving status of Chinese farmers—from peasants to citizens.
9. Rural governance reforms and their global connections
10. Rural NGOs and their global connections
11. Before 1949 many Chinese farmers were already producing for the world market, and a historical perspective could also be helpful to our understanding of China’s interaction with global markets today.
12. How has the exposure to global culture affected perceptions and expressions of the “local” and the “rural”?

Panel and/or paper proposals

It is possible to present an individual paper, or to propose a panel with several participants. We welcome any paper or panel proposal that touches on the theme of ECARDC X: Rural China and its Global Connections.

Publication

ECARDC X aims to publish a selection of high quality papers as an edited volume or a special issue of a quality refereed journal. In addition, we will consider publishing conference proceedings in Chinese. Former conferences have resulted in several edited volumes or special journal issues of selected papers that are well-received in scholarly circles.