Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies
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The Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies (CCCS) plays a vital role in shaping an Australian approach to the study of contemporary China and serves as a significant source of research-based information on China, Chinese societies and Chinese economies in the 21st century.
Promoting the study of contemporary China
The Centre's mission is to transform our understanding of contemporary China and its place in the world and to identify and nurture the young intellectual, business and political leaders who will guide the Australia-China relationship in coming decades. The Centre enhances Australia's bilateral partnerships with top Chinese universities and acts as a hub for contemporary China studies in Melbourne.
Australia in the Asian Century
The University of Melbourne is at the forefront of Australian Research on China. The university has one of the oldest and largest Chinese Studies programs in Australia and is one of the largest concentrations of multi-disciplinary expertise on China and Chinese societies within Australasia.
Australia continues to debate how it should position itself in a world shaped by the rise of China. Domestically, Chinese investment in certain sectors is coming under increased scrutiny, while the Australian Government's response to the geopolitical implications of China's growing wealth and power has been uncertain. The end of the mining boom raises a whole new set of questions about how social, economic, and political affairs in the Chinese century should be managed. As a focal point for the University's China expertise, the Centre can inform these debates and help guide business people, policy-makers, educators, and the general public as they negotiate the Asian Century.
Objectives
- To raise the profile and reputation of the University nationally and internationally by harnessing China-related research from within the Faculty of Arts and across the University
- To provide a highly visible, interdisciplinary, research-focused nexus physically and virtually so as to create and support expert networks for local and international engagements within this area of research
- To provide a framework and focal point for the University's extensive China and Chinese-related teaching, research and research training, and to lead and support the development of new China-related projects
- To assist with the development and realisation of the University's strategy for an enhanced engagement with China and the Asia-Pacific region
Asia Scholars Program
The Asia Scholars Program provides new joint appointments across the Faculty of Arts, targeting outstanding scholars from the Asia region. The Program builds the Faculty's research, teaching, and engagement profile through collaborative research projects and joint publications with scholars from the best universities in the Asia region.
The Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies has hosted three Asia Scholars: Professor Yao Yang (Peking University), Professor Martin K. Whyte (Harvard University), and Professor Ling Zhu (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences). Yao Yang was at the Centre from mid-July to August 2017, after short visits in 2015 and 2016, strengthening the collaboration between the Centre and Peking University's National School of Development on China's economic transition and development. Martin Whyte joined the Centre (and the School of Social and Political Sciences) for three months in 2017 (February to May), continuing in 2018 and 2019 by contributing to teaching and collaborative research on the sociology of contemporary China. Ling Zhu was at the Centre for short visits in 2017, 2018, and 2019, contributing to the Centre's research on agricultural development and poverty alleviation and taught into several Masters-level subjects on contemporary China.
The Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies (CCCS) welcomes applications from students wishing to study for a Doctor of Philosophy – Arts (Phd) in Chinese Studies by research
Study with us
As the University of Melbourne's hub for Chinese Studies, the Centre provides students with an interdisciplinary, collaborative and rigorous research environment in which to pursue their interests. Addressing the challenges and opportunities of the Asian Century necessitates closer understanding of and partnership with China on a number of fronts. Understanding contemporary China is part of defining the contours of economic cooperation, such as through trade and investment and taxes; political collaboration such as effective diplomacy and sustainable security; and social connection through building peer-to-peer linkages and addressing shared social challenges such as an ageing population.
The Centre welcomes enquiries from graduate students with the requisite analytical skills in the social sciences who wish to pursue PhD thesis topics on contemporary China’s economy, politics, society and environment. Our team of early career and established researchers can supervise students on topics including economic development, public finance, public administration, governance, trade and security, social policy (health, education, housing), urbanisation (land use, zoning, rural-to-urban migration), agricultural development, environmental management and other topics.
Initial enquiries should be directed to china-centre@unimelb.edu.au
More information on the Doctor of Philosophy – Arts
Please note: The table in the accordion below lists students currently undertaking PhD studies with the Centre and the title of their theses.
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Students currently undertaking PhD studies with the Centre
Name Titles Supervisor Randong Yuan Exploring options for Social Security Reform in China: A Quantitative Simulation approach with Subnational Modelling Professor Christine Wong Zhenjie Yuan Spatiality, education and subjectivity: prescription, negotiation and the spatial politics of interethnic interactions in a Xinjiangban school Dr Lewis Mayo Lei Yu 
Affordable housing provision in Chinese cities: a solution for whom? Professor Christine Wong Xiao (Monica) Tan 
Towards enhanced primary care system in China: Redefining the Governments role Professor Christine Wong Tianru Guan Political communication space in the Chinese context - a case study of the Chinese media’s reporting and discussion of Sino-Japanese relations Dr Sow Keat Tok Ted Liu As assertive China in the Middle East to North Africa: more autonomy for the Arab States? Dr Sow Keat Tok Tianyang Liu 
The Politics of the Self: Regulatory Representation of Terrorism in the Xinjiang Region Dr Sow Keat Tok Song Yao Explaining the Actorness of Chinese Provincial Governments: the Case Study of Yunnan Dr Sow Keat Tok
Scholarships
Applicants should consider the Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Stipend Scholarship and other scholarship opportunities available at the University. For more information please see the Scholarships Graduate Research Scholarships web page and the Faculty of Arts Graduate research scholarships web page.
Oriental Studies Trust Fund
The Oriental Studies Trust Fund – Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies Scholarship is a living allowance to be awarded annually to students who have applied for admission to or are currently enrolled in a PhD degree at the University of Melbourne on a topic related to public policy, economics and society related to Chinese public policy.
Applications for this scholarship are not currently open. For more information please email China Centre.
Taiwan Ministry of Education APEC Scholarship
The Ministry of Education in Taiwan is partnering with universities to offer a scholarship to students of the member economies of APEC for a PhD candidate or postdoctoral research fellow.
More information
Further details are available on the APEC Education Portal.
Enquiries should be emailed to australia@mail.moe.gov.tw
The Centre provides a focal point for China-related research across the University of Melbourne and leads an inter-disciplinary program on contemporary Chinese public policy, economics, environment, and society.
Understanding contemporary China
Our four research themes are:
- Governance, public policy, and domestic economy
- Agriculture and environment
- Civil society and social change
- Global China
Recent publications by Centre staff can be found on our Staff publications web page.
Open access Research Briefs summarise the latest research from our staff and other scholars of contemporary China.
The Centre also supports the Chinese Studies Research Group.
A poverty resettlement project in Shaanxi Province - Sarah Rogers, 2018.
An NGO-led eco-tourism and local capacity building project in Amdo, southern Gansu
Province - Fengshi Wu, 2018.
Coffee plantation adjacent to the Nu River, Yunnan Province - Zoe Wang, 2017
Resettlement village near the Bui dam in Ghana - Xiao Han, 2015.
Research Briefs are a publication from the Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies. The briefs offer analysis of recent developments in China and an introduction to current academic research.
Aim of Research Briefs
The Research Briefs are distributed to our academic, government and business networks. They are aimed at a general audience with an interest in China, and aim to tell a coherent story about a topic of general interest.
If you are interested in receiving these briefs via email please contact us to be added to the mailing list: china-centre@unimelb.edu.au
Research Briefs 2018 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number / date | Title | Name |
| Research Brief No. 16 November 2018 | Neither Panacea nor Toxin: Chinese Dam Building in Africa (545kb pdf) |
Dr Xiao Han CCCS Research Fellow |
| Research Brief No. 15 September 2018 | International Chinese enterprises: is reputation management a silver bullet? (540kb pdf) |
Dr Sacha Cody Australian National University |
| Research Brief No. 14 July 2018 | Rural Charities and the Conundrum of Social Governance (535kb pdf) |
Dr Tom Cliff DECRA Fellow Australian National University |
| Research Brief No. 13 May 2018 | China and the Global Refugee Crisis (535kb pdf) |
Dr Fengshi Wu CCCS Senior Lecturer |
| Research Brief No. 12 February 2018 | Youth volunteering in China: To what end? (555kb pdf) |
Dr Anthony J. Spires Deputy Director, CCCS |
Research Briefs 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number / date | Title | Name |
| Research Brief No. 11 December 2017 | Is the Xinjiangban an effective antidote to ethnic conflict? (575kb pdf) |
Zhenjie Yuan PhD Candidate, Asia Institute |
| Research Brief No. 10 October 2017 | Internal convergence and China's growth potential (445kb pdf) |
Professor Yao Yang Peking University and CCCS Asia Scholar; Wang Mengqi, Peking University |
| Research Brief No. 9 August 2017 | Is community-based natural resource management an alternative for China? (535kb pdf) |
Dr Zoe Wang CCCS Research Fellow |
| Research Brief No. 8 June 2017 | Rumbling of reform in China's fiscal foundations (445kb pdf) |
Professor Christine Wong Director, CCCS |
| Research Brief No. 7 April 2017 | Reforming history: Putting the CCP back into China's historical narratives (550kb pdf) |
Dr Sow Keat Tok Asia Institute |
| Research Brief No. 6 February 2017 | Ending China's One-Child Policy: Too little too late? (650kb pdf) |
Professor Martin K. Whyte CCCS Asia Scholar |
Research Briefs 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number / date | Title | Name |
| Research Brief No. 5 October 2016 | Affordable Housing Provision in Urban China: A Solution for Whom? (480kb pdf) |
Lei Yu PhD Candidate, CCCS |
| Research Brief No. 4 August 2016 | The End of Poverty in China? (510kb pdf) |
Sarah Rogers CCCS Research Fellow |
| Research Brief No. 3 June 2016 | Selling China to the World: Translators beware! (515kb pdf) |
Bei Hu Asia Institute Master of Translation Student |
| Research Brief No. 2 April 2016 | The Tibet Project? (460kb pdf) |
Dr Gerald Roche, Asia Institute Discovery Early Career Research Fellow |
| Research Brief No. 1 February 2016 | Can a Modern System of Governance Work Under Xi? (450kb pdf) |
Professor Christine Wong Director, CCCS |