From April 11th to 13th, 2025, the 11th Annual Conference of the Camphor Economist Circle(CEC) was successfully held at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law(ZUEL). This conference was jointly organized by the CEC Academic Platform and the School of Business Administration(SBA). With the theme “Economic Research in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” the conference explored the frontiers of economic theory and policy practice in the context of AI development.
At 9:00 on 12th April, the opening ceremony of the 11th Annual Conference of the CEC was held in the North Auditorium of the Wenhan Building. The ceremony was attended by experts in economic management from various sectors, as well as renowned scholars from both domestic and international institutions. Professor Wu Haitao, Dean of the SBA and the Director of the MBA Education Center, served as the host of the opening ceremony.
Chen Shi, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of ZUEL, delivered a speech at the ceremony. He emphasized that economics, as a crucial discipline for understanding societal operations, is undergoing profound changes. He encouraged young scholars to remain problem-oriented, deeply engage with real-life contexts, and ground their research in China’s development practices.
Professor Wu Haitao pointed out that the Annual Conference of the CEC not only continued the academic tradition of the forum but also served as a vital platform for frontier exploration and consensus building in the economics community.
The founding initiator of the CEC reviewed its development from an open academic exchange community to a high-quality academic platform.
Jiang Feitao, researcher at the Institute of Industrial Economics of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences(CASS), and Chair of the Outstanding Paper Selection Committee of the CEC, introduced the evaluation process and presented the awards for outstanding papers.
On the afternoon of 11th April, prior to the opening ceremony, the “Pre-Conference Expert Forum” of the 11th Annual Conference of the CEC was held in East Room 718 of the Wenhan Building. The forum was chaired by Professor Shi Junwei, Vice Dean of the SBA. Several professors presented and shared their research work.
Following the opening ceremony on 12th April and continuing through the morning of 13th April, multiple parallel sessions were held. More than 200 experts and early-career scholars from across the country engaged in in-depth discussions and academic exchanges.
The conference featured insightful presentations and dynamic exchanges, highlighting the academic vision and strength of young scholars in the age of artificial intelligence and promoting diverse dialogues on cutting-edge topics in economics.