Presentation to external stakeholders

EU-China IPR workshop successfully held in Beijing

Innovation Norway, the Royal Norwegian Embassy in China, the China IP SME Helpdesk and European Union Chamber of Commerce in China jointly organised the EU-China IPR Workshop within the ReConnect China project in Beijing on 28 January 2026. The event focused on IPR in the age of artificial intelligence (AI), bringing together representatives from European institutions in China, international organisations, industry associations, professional service providers, and enterprises for an engaging knowledge exchange and intriguing discussion.

Reconnect China WP leaders deliver the opening address and introduce the project

The workshop was kicked off by the keynote speech of Mr Henning Kristoffersen, Commercial Counsellor at the Norwegian Embassy in China and Head of Innovation Norway in China, who stated that intellectual property serves as a crucial pillar for advancing innovation cooperation and sustainable development. He emphasised the need to continuously strengthen international exchanges and mutual trust-based collaboration.

Afterwards, Dr Gao Peng, Senior Commercial Officer for China at Innovation Norway and leader of WP1 of the Reconnect China project, outlined the background and objectives of the ReConnect China project. In 2026, WP1 will focus on hosting IPR and CCUS seminars, submitting multiple policy briefs and progress reports to advance key project objectives. Dr Gao Peng emphasised that the project will continue to establish a knowledge exchange platform for innovation cooperation between China and Europe.

Thematic sessions focus on IP practice experience in the AI era

After the introduction of the project, the workshop continued with thematic knowledge sharing sessions where Ms Helika Jürgenson, Project Manager of the EU-China IPR SME Helpdesk, outlined the platform’s services and enterprise support framework.

Mr Stephen Yang, Patent Agent and Managing Partner at IP March, delivered a presentation titled ‘The Role of Intellectual Property in Innovation During the AI Era,’ sharing strategies for intellectual property protection against the backdrop of rapid AI technological advancement.

Mr Paul Ranjard, representing the European Chamber of Commerce’s Intellectual Property Rights Working Group (IPR WG), shared practical insights on IP challenges faced by foreign enterprises in China and offered recommendations for corporate compliance and risk management.

Mr Yan Chunhui, Partner at Zhong Lun Law Firm, held a thematic presentation titled ‘Current Status and Outlook for Protection of Technology-Related Intellectual Property Rights in China’. He systematically outlined China’s institutional framework for protecting technology-related IP, with a specific focus on the pharmaceutical sector.

Mr Lv Guoliang, former Deputy Director of the WIPO China Office, and Mr Mr Ni Hao, Vice President and Secretary-General of the Beijing Intellectual Property Protection Association shared further insights on China’s intellectual property development.

In-depth discussions and interactions fostered exchange and cooperation

The workshop ended with a discussion session that resulted in practical policy proposals to the European Union included in the ReConnect China project report. Key issues such as cross-border IP dispute resolution mechanisms and risk prevention for SMEs were addressed. Moving forward, all parties from China and Europe will continue to leverage such exchange platforms to deepen collaboration in the intellectual property domain.

Research from ReConnect China at the EU-SPRI and ENTRANCE conferences in Germany

Research results from our work area on EU-China cooperation in science, technology and innovation were presented in two conferences in Germany before the summer. Philipp Brugner from our partner ZSI delivered these presentations, drawing on the work done with his colleague Gábor Szüdi in their trans-European survey on research security in the cooperation with China, which was implemented on behalf of the ReConnect China project between May 2024 and January 2025.

At the EU-SPRI annual conference 2025 at the Technical University Dortmund (11-13 June 2025), Philipp took part in the session titled “From (in)dependence towards resilience: tensions and synergies between open strategic autonomy and transformative research and innovation policies” and presented the survey findings in the light of the EU’s open strategic autonomy discussions.

Only a few days later, at the ENTRANCE conference “Lessons Learned: Navigating Experiences from Sino-European Cooperation for Future Global Engagements” (7-8 July 2025), Philipp participated in the concluding panel discussion and gave an outlook on potential recommendations for future EU-China cooperation in R&I derived from the policy brief written by ZSI.

The consolidated findings of ZSI’s research will be published in the forthcoming Routledge International Handbook of Research Security (2026). A first glimpse into the handbook’s content is available through Routledge.

(featured image von Alexandre Pellaes auf Unsplash)

ReConnect China Roundtable at the 25th Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies

Key achievements of ReConnect China research at Europe’s main scientific conference on China

From 27 to 30 August 2024, the ‘European Association for Chinese Studies’ held its 25^th Biennial Conference in Tallinn, Estonia. Our project was present with a roundtable discussing the key research outputs of the project realised so far.

Outi Luova (University of Tartu), Jasper Roctus (UGent/Egmont), Bart Dessein (UGent/Egmont), and Beatrice Gallelli (University Ca’Foscari/Istito Affari Internationali) took part in the roundtable on behalf of ReConnect China. Beatrice Gallelli also moderated the roundtable. With an audience of academics and think tankers in the field of China studies, discussions developed based on the policy briefs that are the main outcome of the research done within our consortium. In particular, with some of the authors of the policy briefs and members of Work Package 6 (Measures to Maximise Impact) being present, the discussions developed on issues related to the Chinese economy, China’s international relations, China’s domestic policies, research and development, scientific cooperation, and outreach to civil society with emphasis on European youth.

While for the last topic, the ‘ReConnect China’ consortium has developed MOOCs on Chinese Politics and Society, EU-China Relations, the Chinese Economy, and Chinese Popular Culture, the panelists, in their statements, especially drew on the policy briefs ‘Knowledge and Perception of Research Security’ and ‘Policy Recommendations on EU-China STI Cooperation in the big Data-related Scientific Fields’ (ZSI), ‘Geopolitical Narratives Are Counterproductive’ (Elcano and IAI), ‘Navigating EU-China Investment Dynamics: Safeguarding Technological Know-How while fostering Cooperation’ (IAI), and ‘‘Remonstrating’ or the Art of Forging Relations’ (Egmont).

from left to right: Outi Louva, Bart Dessein, Jasper Roctus, Beatrice Gallelli

Science Diplomacy Collaboration with China – ReConnectChina represented at COST Workshop

In the framework of a science diplomacy workshop organised by the COST Association for new COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Actions on 28 June 2023, ZSI researcher Gábor Szüdi had the chance to present the co-operation risks and potentials with China (as an example of a ‘non-like-minded country’) within collaborative R&I projects, using the tools of science diplomacy.
The presentation highlighted the differences between the EU and Chinese interpretation of STI co-operation and science diplomacy, drawing also on national examples, explaining the inherent tensions that might be successfully mitigated by the ongoing work in ReConnectChina.
The workshop therefore served also as an excellent opportunity to introduce high-level researchers from all around Europe (principal investigators of COST Actions in manifold thematic areas) the thematic foci and strategic priorities of ReConnect China.