2026 marks the 50th anniversary of Mao Zedong’s death, an event that heralded dramatic change in the People’s Republic of China. This year’s CIW Forum reflects on Mao’s legacy across half a century of political, social and economic transformation in China. Bringing together leading Australian and international experts from a variety of disciplines, the forum explores continuity and change in China’s governance and ideology, state-society relations, the justice system, political economy and China’s global engagement.

We are delighted to have The Hon Tim Watts MP deliver the welcoming remarks at the 2026 ANU China in the World Forum.

Tim Watts is the Federal Member for Gellibrand, located in Melbourne's west, where he has served one of the most diverse electorates in Australia for more than a decade. Tim was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2013. He is the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Indian Ocean Affairs and served as the Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2022 to 2025. He is also Chair of the House Education Committee and the Foreign Affairs and Aid Subcommittee. Tim is also the author of two books, The Golden Country: Australia's Changing Identity and Two Futures: Australia at a Critical Moment.

SPEAKERS:

Yasheng Huang, Professor of Global Economics and Management, MIT Sloan School

Yasheng Huang is a Professor of Global Economics and Management at the MIT Sloan School and also holds the Epoch Foundation Professorship of Global Economics and Management. Huang is the author of 11 books in both English and Chinese. His book, The Rise and Fall of the EAST: How Exams, Autocracy, Stability, and Technology Brought China Success, and Why They Might Lead to its Decline (Yale University Press 2023), was named as one of the Best Books of the Year by Foreign Affairs magazine.

Daniel Leese, Professor of Sinology and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, University of Freiburg

Daniel Leese serves as Professor of Sinology and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Freiburg, Germany. His work focuses on the social, political, and legal history of modern China. He is the author of four monographs, including the award-winning Mao’s Long Shadow: How China Deals with its Past (C.H. Beck 2020). He is the co-editor of Justice after Mao: The Politics of Truth in the People's Republic of China (Cambridge University Press 2023).

Maria Repnikova, Inaugural William C. Pate Chair in Strategic Communication, Georgia State University

Maria Repnikova is an expert on Chinese political communication, an Associate Professor in Global Communication, and the inaugural William C. Pate Chair in Strategic Communication at Georgia State University. She is the author of the award-winning book, Media Politics in China: Improvising Power Under Authoritarianism (Cambridge University Press 2017), Chinese Soft Power (Cambridge Global China Element Series 2022) and the newly published Competing for Soft Power: China’s Image-Making in Africa (CUP 2026).

Susan Trevaskes, Professor of Chinese Studies, School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, Griffith University

Susan Trevaskes is a professor of Chinese Studies at Griffith University, Australia. She specialises in Chinese criminal justice, social governance and law. She is currently lead Chief Investigator on two ARC Discovery Project grants on Chinese law and governance. She is the co-editor of Law and the Party in China Ideology and Organisation (Cambridge University Press 2020).

Yu Zheng, Head of Department of International Politics, School of International Relations and Public Affairs, Fudan University

Yu Zheng is a Distinguished Professor and Head of Department of International Politics, School of International Relations and Public Affairs (SIRPA), Fudan University in Shanghai. He is also Changjiang Distinguished Professor awarded by the Ministry of Education and serves as the editor-in-chief of Fudan International Studies Review. His research interests include international development, global governance, international political economy, and the Global South. He is the author of Multifaceted Globalization: A New Paradigm of International Development.

CHAIR

Ben Hillman, Director, Australian Centre on China in the World, Australian National University

Ben Hillman is Director of the Australian Centre on China in the World and Editor of The China Journal. His research examines politics, public policy and public administration in China. He is the author or editor of eight books on China, including Patronage and Power (Stanford University Press, 2014) and The Communist Party of China (with Fengyuan Ji eds., Cambridge University Press, 2026).

5pm drinks reception for 5:30pm start.

If you require accessibility accommodations or a visitor Personal Emergency Evacuation plan please contact ciw@anu.edu.au.

Photo credit: Nick Fewings, Unsplash.

Contact the host of 2026 ANU China in the World Forum | From Mao to Now

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