The 25th China Economics Annual Conference (CEAC) commenced on December 6, 2025 at the Wenzhi Hall on the Xuhui Campus of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The conference is jointly organized by the CEAC Secretariat and Antai College of Economics and Management (ACEM) at Shanghai Jiao Tong University（SJTU）.

The opening ceremony brought together nearly a thousand participants, including representatives from 29 member institutions (universities and research institutes), heads of economics departments from 70 top-tier Chinese universities, authors of 191 accepted papers, representatives from 13 renowned publishing houses and leading academic journals, as well as scholars, students, media professionals, and economics enthusiasts from across the nation. The ceremony was live-streamed on eight platforms, reaching a cumulative audience of 130,000.

In his welcoming address, Liu Weidong, Vice President of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, extended a warm welcome to all attendees. He noted the large scale and diverse range of topics at this year's conference, with nearly a thousand scholars delving into numerous frontier areas, showcasing the vitality and potential of economic research in China. He emphasized that as China enters a new stage of high-quality development, economic research must be grounded in Chinese practice, with findings translated into policy recommendations to contribute to economic and social development.

Yao Yang, Dean of the Dishui Lake Advanced Institute of Finance at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, expressed gratitude to the host and supporting organizations. Reflecting on the past five years, he highlighted three key achievements of the conference, mentioned its continuous expansion in scale, and expressed hope that under the new leadership, the CEAC would continue to serve as a vital platform for academic exchange and propel Chinese economic research to new heights.

Chen Fangruo, Dean of ACEM at SJTU, welcomed the guests and thanked the organizing team. He elaborated on the college's " Two types of scholarship, horizontal (academic) and vertical (industry), reinforcing each other and connecting theory with practice " strategy and its outcomes. Dean Chen urged economics researchers to seek authentic questions from the frontline of enterprises to drive academic innovation and serve economic development, expressing his willingness to collaborate with peers in grounding research in practice to foster a virtuous cycle between theory and application.

The opening ceremony and the "Rising Academic Stars" award ceremony for doctoral graduates were presided over by Zhu Xi, Vice Dean of ACEM. Ten doctoral students were selected as awardees and will present their research during the conference.

Following the opening, Chen Zhao, Vice Dean of School of Economics at Fudan University, delivered a keynote speech. He pointed out that the impact of generative AI depends on how it is used. As a "double-edged sword," it enhances efficiency, enables collaboration, and reshapes the labor market, but also presents challenges such as cognitive dependency and employment displacement. He stressed the need to cultivate public AI literacy and critical thinking to ensure human dominance, noting that its development is fundamentally about balancing human-machine collaboration, maintaining human agency, and constructing social value.

A roundtable forum chaired by Chen Binkai, Vice President of Central University of Finance and Economics, focused on "Balancing Academic Research and Policy Impact." Panelists included Lin Jianhao, Dean of Lingnan College at Sun Yat-sen University; Lu Ming, Distinguished Professor at ACEM, SJTU; Wang Pengfei, Dean of the HSBC Business School at Peking University; and Wei Chu, Dean of the School of Applied Economics at Renmin University of China. The five experts analyzed the dilemmas and pathways of economic research from multiple dimensions. They acknowledged a current disconnect between the two realms but agreed they are complementary. Economics should return to its original purpose of "managing state affairs for public welfare," research real-world problems, promote paradigm shifts, produce outcomes with both academic value and policy significance, and reshape its value for the times.

At the Haiwen Lecture chaired by Wang Pengfei, Professor Jin Keyu from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology discussed "Geoeconomics and the New Global Order." She argued the world has entered a phase of "Globalization 2.0." Despite protectionism and "decoupling" pressures, global networks exhibit resilience, and China's position as a hub in industrial chains has strengthened. The future core of competition lies in vying for central nodes within networks. Maintaining openness and integration into global networks is fundamental for sustainable growth and shared prosperity.

The three-day conference features a packed agenda. After the opening, 75 parallel sessions are scheduled across the Pao Siu Loong Library, Hao Ran High-Tech Building, and Teaching Building No. 1. Following tradition, the conference also includes a Dean/Director Joint Meeting, a Member Institution Meeting, a Women Economists Luncheon, and an Economics Book Exhibition, providing a comprehensive, multi-level, and broad platform for academic exchange.