René Trappel was invited to discuss recent developments in governance in China at two international workshops in June 2019. Both presentations highlighted different aspects of the current approach of the Chinese government to transform the countryside.

  
On June 7-8 René participated in the “Chinese Agriculture Abroad” workshop at Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech Republic and presented on “Guiding Peasants into the Future? Vision and Practice of Agricultural Modernization in China”. The international workshop provided a stimulating forum to discuss the Chinese influence on agriculture in the bordering nations, in particular the Russian Far East. 

On June 17-18 he took part in the “Eurasian Parliamentary Practices and Political Mythologies:  Imperial Legacies, Diversities, and Representations in the 20th and 21st Century” workshop at Heidelberg and presented on “Optimizing People and the Ways to Govern Them: The Transformation of Governance in Rural China”.