2025 RSA China Division Annual Conference

Conference Overview

The 2025 RSA China Division Annual Conference will take place on 19–21 September 2025 at Zhejiang University, Hangzhou. Jointly organized by the RSA China Division and the School of Earth Sciences at Zhejiang University, the conference will focus on the theme ‘Regional Transformation and High-Quality Development in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.’ As a driving force of the new technological revolution, AI is reshaping global industries and regional development, creating both opportunities and challenges. The conference provides a platform for scholars and practitioners to exchange ideas, advance new theories and methods in regional studies, and discuss pathways for sustainable and inclusive development in the AI era.

 

Keynote Speakers

Chusheng Lin, Professor of Geography, University of Hong Kong; Fellow, UK Academy of Social Sciences
Canfei He, Dean and Boya Distinguished Professor, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University
Li Tian, Professor, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University
Ming Lu, Distinguished Professor, Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Jie Chen, Professor, School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Zhenhong Du, Dean and Distinguished Professor, School of Earth Sciences, Zhejiang University

 

Conference Themes

The conference will feature plenary sessions and parallel panels covering a wide range of topics, including but not limited to:

• Regional collaboration on emission reduction and sustainable development
• Infrastructure and public service provision: theories, methods, and policies
• Metropolitan transportation and land use
• Smart technologies and innovation-driven regional coordination
• Evolutionary economic geography and new pathways in China
• Enterprise innovation, industrial upgrading, and high-quality growth
• Regional digital transformation, green technology, and sustainability
• Belt and Road Initiative and regional cooperation
• Urban–rural spatial governance in the new development paradigm
• Urban regeneration and high-quality urban development

 

Organizers

• Host: Regional Studies Association (RSA) China Division
• Co-host: School of Earth Sciences, Zhejiang University
• Supporting Institutions:
• Zhejiang University Urban and Rural Planning and Design Institute Co., Ltd.
• Geographical Society of Zhejiang Province

Committees

• Academic Advisory Committee: Weidong Liu, Canfei He, Zhenhong Du, Shenjing He, Jie Chen, Li Tian, Jiao’e Wang
• Secretaries-General: Zhouying Song, Fenghua Pan, Shengjun Zhu, Chen Wang
• Local Organizing Team: School of Earth Sciences, Zhejiang University

 

For more information, please visit the RSA China Division website: http://rsachina.org/ or contact us via email at rsachina2025@163.com (conference email) or rsacd@igsnrr.ac.cn (secretariat).