Associate Professor Zhang Shuai from Tongji University delivers a themed lecture at the CCS

2024/04/26

On April 24, 2024, CCS Distinguished Senior Fellow Zhang Shuai, Associate Professor from the College of Design and Innovation at Tongji University, delivered a special lecture titled “Transformation towards Sustainable Development: Concepts, Indicators, and Empirical Evidence” at the R C Majumdar Arts Auditorium of the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh. This lecture marked the second in the Distinguished Speaker Series delivered by Chinese experts and organized by the CCS since its establishment. Professor Shamsad Mortuza, director of International Affairs Office of the University of Dhaka and Bangladesh Director of the CCS, chaired the meeting, while Yang Hui, Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Dhaka, attended the lecture. Nearly 60 faculty members and students from the University of Dhaka actively participated in the lecture and enthusiastically engaged in discussions.  

Associate Professor Zhang Shuai, by focusing on research related to sustainable development, explored whether a country is truly moving towards sustainable development from four aspects: the concept of sustainable development, evaluation criteria, major observation indicators, and empirical analysis. Sustainable development used to be defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” but he pointed out the conceptual ambiguity of this old definition in the lecture. He argued that the concept of sustainable development is constantly evolving rather than remaining static, redefining it as “achieving a higher and more equitable level of welfare within the carrying capacity of the ecological environment.” Zhang then introduced the assessment criteria and observation indicators for sustainable development, conducted empirical analysis, and concluded with a case study and analysis of G20 countries.

Liu Zongyi, Director of the CCS, stated that in 2024, the CCS would invite several renowned Chinese experts to Dhaka, Bangladesh, to deliver a series of specialized lectures on topics such as sustainable development, environmental protection, and social governance. Professor Yao Yang, Boya Chair Professor at Peking University and executive director of the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development at Peking University, delivered the inaugural lecture on March 25 at the University of Dhaka, titled “China's Growth Potential.”