The 2023 Annual Meeting of Japanese Association for Chinese Economy and Management Studies (JACEMS) was organized in Japan’s Doshisha University on November 11-12, 2023. Professor Liu Gang and Associate Professor Lei Ming from School of Economics, Nankai University were invited to participate in a disciplinary meeting on the theme of Digital Transformation in China: Autonomous Driving and Smart Cities. Zheng Fengyang, a doctoral student of Grade 2022, Li Xiang and Li Qinqian, doctoral students of Grade 2023, also attended the meeting as members of the research team. Professor Liu Gang and Associate Professor Lei Ming delivered reports to the audience as keynote speakers, and had in-depth exchanges with more than 30 experts and scholars from China, Japan, and other countries. The meeting produced far-reaching impacts in the world.

Professor Liu Gang presented his paper China’s Solution for Social Embedding and the Industrialization of Autonomous Driving at the disciplinary meeting. Liu pointed out that, under the influence of practical factors such as technological development, transportation environment, and public awareness, the question about where the industrialization of autonomous driving in China is technically moving not only depends on the technology itself, but also on the national conditions of China. By utilizing the value network analysis and methods of social research and experience based on the theory of complex adaptive systems, Professor Liu Gang and his fellow researchers believe that autonomous driving is deeply embedded in the Chinese context due to the high embeddedness when the technology and communities are interacting, so an intelligent network of vehicles centered on vehicle-road collaboration has been developed as a solution for the industrialization of autonomous driving.  

Associate Professor Lei Ming expounded his thoughts on the development of Japan's intelligent economy through his presentation of Status Quo and Prospects of Intelligent Economy in Japan. After analyzing Japan’s AI strategic documents from 2016 to 2021 and data mining of artificial intelligence research and development network in the country, Lei believes that Japan has developed rapidly in the field of artificial intelligence over the past years, though it is still faced with problems such as low openness, lack of private investment mechanisms, too few unicorn enterprises, and a serious shortage of talents in key fields. China and Japan are highly complementary in the field of AI, and their potential cooperation will not only help Japan out from social problems of aging and declining fertility, but also facilitate China's economic restructuring and upgrading to achieve the goal of Made in China 2025.

After the reports, Professor Li Chunli from Aichi University and Professor Ryoji Nakagawa from Ritsumeikan University commented on the papers of Liu and Lei. The reviewers stated that Professor Liu Gang and Associate Professor Lei Ming have grasped the current conditions and developing laws of artificial intelligence economy in China and Japan, and their innovative and pioneering views have made significant contributions to the research in the field of intelligent economy. During the Q&A part, Liu, Lei and the doctoral students answered questions from the audience and had in-depth exchanges on issues such as the development of the autonomous driving industry, technological competition between China and the United States, and differences in technology recognition and acceptance among the Chinese and Japanese people.

The Japanese Association for Chinese Economy and Management Studies (JACEMS) was established in 2014, after the combination of the Japanese Association for Chinese Economy and Management Studies and the Japanese Society for Chinese Economy. The JACEMS focuses on the Chinese economy, particularly on topics such as management of Chinese enterprises, Chinese economic statistics, economic history, China-centered development economics, international economics, and comparative institutional theory. This annual meeting was hosted by Japan's Doshisha University and attended by scholars from Chinese and Japanese universities such as Doshisha University, Tokyo Keizai University, Kyoto University, Ritsumeikan University, Hosei University, Aichi University, Nankai University and Tianjin University of Technology.