Professor Wang Zhengyi first stressed that the development of an independent intellectual system for philosophy and social sciences must answer the questions of the world, the times, China and the people. He pointed out that the first edition of World Systems Theory and China, completed in the 1990s, drew inspiration from localized studies of world-systems theory conducted by overseas scholars. More crucially, it was written to respond to the questions of the times and China revolving around China’s ties with the world-system.
Professor Wang then systematically laid out four core characteristics of world systems analysis: capital accumulation and geopolitical competition serve as its two primary driving forces; constant dynamic shifts take place between core and peripheral regions; the system operates under Kondratiev economic cycles and hegemonic cycles; and the capitalist system expands its influence through social sciences and ideology.
In closing his presentation, Professor Wang noted that globalization has undergone profound transformations since the 2008 financial crisis, featuring slower global economic growth, rising attention to national security agendas, the resurgence of geopolitical tensions, and surging social movements of all kinds. To address China’s fundamental questions in the new era, scholars must maintain an open mindset. Meanwhile, efforts should be made to translate the independent intellectual system into courses and textbooks, and advance the institutional development of academic communities.
Professor Wang Dong was invited as the discussant for the session and spoke highly of World Systems Theory and China (Revised Edition). He remarked that as a founding figure and leading scholar of international political economy in China, Professor Wang Zhengyi has produced a landmark foundational work for this discipline. The first edition represented China’s first monograph offering a systematic examination of Immanuel Wallerstein’s world-systems theory. The revised volume has been included in the series Selected Contemporary Chinese Academic Works published by The Commercial Press. Drawing on over two decades of global shifts and China’s developmental experience, it updates this classic to reflect contemporary realities. The book facilitates the localized adaptation of foreign theories and fosters two-way dialogue between theory and China’s practical experience. Boasting rigorous academic depth and policy advisory value, it stands as essential reading for world-systems research and an exemplary achievement of Chinese scholars independently constructing theories of international political economy. He encouraged students to delve deeply into the book to consolidate their academic foundations.
During the open discussion session, students raised thoughtful questions on topics including how China can reshape unequal structures within the world-system, whether China’s rise challenges Wallerstein’s theory, and the impacts of manufacturing reshoring to developed economies. Professor Wang Zhengyi answered each question in turn. He emphasized that China must uphold an open outlook in its participation in global governance: rejecting the Euro-American centrism that belittles China’s own development, while also guarding against narrow self-centrism. The relationship between China’s rise and the world-system is neither simple assimilation nor complete breakdown; instead, it entails improving, advancing, reforming and enriching the existing system.
At the end of the event, Professor Wang Zhengyi signed and presented copies of his book to students, before taking a group photo with all faculty and attendees. This fruitful exchange deepened students’ understanding of the capitalist world-system and China’s place within it, while helping them grasp the sense of mission and original academic aspiration that scholars ought to uphold. The insights gained will serve as a guiding light illuminating their academic journeys as they tackle the pivotal questions of the world and the times in the years ahead.
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