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CALL FOR PAPERS—China: An International Journal

Please click here for the full Call for Papers (PDF).

Artificial Intelligence and China: Politics, Economics and Society

The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI (GAI), is increasingly acknowledged as a general-purpose technology (GPT), profoundly reshaping politics, economy, society, and international relations, with China emerging as a pivotal player in this technological revolution. A GPT has been defined as “a single generic technology, recognizable as such over its whole lifetime, that initially has much scope for improvement and eventually comes to be widely used, to have many uses, and to have many spillover effects” (Crafts 2021). From strategic national policies such as “New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan” released in 2017 to the recent breakthroughs such as DeepSeek, China’s engagement with AI presents unique characteristics and challenges worthy of scholarly examination. If AI is considered as a GPT, following the theoretical framework established by Bresnahan and Trajtenberg (1995) and has been recently applied to AI by Trajtenberg (2019), the implications of these developments extend beyond technological innovation. AI will transform China’s industrial structures, economic paradigms, governance systems, international relations, and societal norms.

China: An International Journal invites scholars and practitioners to critically examine in this special issue the multifaceted impact of AI on China’s economic, policy, and social spheres. The objective is to seek both theoretical frameworks and empirical investigations that explore how AI is transforming China’s domestic and international positioning, as well as how China’s distinctive approach to AI development may influence global AI governance and norms.

The journal welcomes manuscripts that address or delve into any of the following themes or more.

Possible Key Topics:

  1. AI and China’s Economic Transformation
  • AI-driven industrial upgrading and economic restructuring in China
  • AI’s impact on productivity, growth patterns, and economic inequality
  • Provincial and regional disparities in AI adoption and development
  • AI entrepreneurship and venture capital ecosystems in China
  • AI and China’s position in the global economic system
  1. AI Governance and Public Policy in China
  • Evolution of China’s AI regulatory frameworks and ethical guidelines
  • Comparative analysis of China’s AI governance approaches versus other nations’
  • Data governance policies and their implications for AI development
  • Balancing between promoting AI innovation and regulatory oversight
  • Local governments’ experimentation with AI applications
  1. AI and China’s International Relations
  • China’s role in global AI governance and standard-setting
  • The “AI race” narrative and its implications for international cooperation
  • Technological decoupling and its impact on global AI ecosystems
  1. AI and Chinese Society
  • AI’s impact on labour markets, employment patterns, and skills development
  • AI applications in healthcare, education, and other social services
  • Algorithmic governance and its implications for state–society relations
  • Digital divide and equitable access to benefits of AI
  1. AI and China’s Technological Innovation System
  • The role of AI in China’s innovation-driven development strategy
  • The role of state support, market forces, and global linkages in AI development
  • University–industry collaboration in AI research and development

Submission Guidelines:

  • Contributions in the form of full research papers (up to 10,000 words including footnotes) and comments/notes (up to 5,000 words including footnotes) are welcome
  • Paper submission deadline: 31 August 2025
  • Your submission email should indicate “AI and China” in the subject line
  • Submissions should adhere to and be formatted according to China: An International Journal‘s editorial style guide
  • Shortlisted submissions will undergo a double-blind peer review process
  • Final decisions will be communicated by May 2026
  • Publication of the special issue is scheduled between June and August 2026

Please submit your abstract/manuscript and enquiries to: cij@nus.edu.sg

References:

Timothy F. Bresnahan and M. Trajtenberg, “General Purpose Technologies ‘Engines of Growth’?”, Journal of Econometrics 65, no. 1 (1995): 83–108.
Nicholas Crafts, “Artificial Intelligence as a General-purpose Technology: An Historical Perspective”, Oxford Review of Economic Policy 37, no. 3 (2021): 521–36.
Manuel Trajtenberg, “Artificial Intelligence as the Next GPT”, in The Economics of Artificial Intelligence: An Agenda, ed. Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans and Avi Goldfarb (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2019), pp. 175–86.

About China: An International Journal

China: An International Journal (CIJ) is an international refereed journal that focuses on contemporary China, including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and covers the fields of politics, economics, society, geography, law, culture and international relations. It is a flagship publication of the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore, an autonomous research organisation that promotes both academic and policy-oriented research on East Asian development.

Launched in March 2003, CIJ is currently in its 23rd year of circulation and is listed in the following Clarivate Analytics (previously known as Thomson Reuters) citation indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index®; Journal Citation Reports/ Social Sciences Edition; and Current Contents®/Social and Behavioral Sciences. CIJ is a quarterly published every February, May, August and November by NUS Press for the East Asian Institute.

The journal is accessible via Project Muse at https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/267

You can download a copy electronically if your university or institution’s library subscribes to China: An International Journal.

For articles that are available as open access, click:

https://muse.jhu.edu/article/839228; https://muse.jhu.edu/article/848481; https://muse.jhu.edu/article/856417;
https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/43/article/863498; http://doi.org/10.1353/chn.2022.0032; https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/43/article/884124;
https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/50931; https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/43/article/904731; https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/43/article/913143/pdf;
https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/43/article/920962; https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/43/article/929581; https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/43/article/936310;
https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/43/article/945296; https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/43/article/953051