2026 International Doctoral Forum
Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE)
ABOUT THE FORUM
The forum aims to strengthen international educational cooperation and promote cross-cultural exchange by providing a platform for exceptional doctoral students, from home and abroad, to engage in academic and intellectual discourse. Encompassing fields such as economics, finance, business administration, data science and artificial intelligence, the forum focuses on critical issues that impact global economic development. Additionally, the forum aspires to offer new perspectives and innovative approaches to address these global economic challenges. It endeavors to help young scholars worldwide gain a deeper understanding of the Chinese economy and society while assisting domestic graduate students in broadening their global perspectives and fostering innovative thinking. CUFE is committed to building an annual academic exchange brand program and will host the Third Summer Global Doctoral Forum from June 22 to June 29, 2026.
IMPORTANT DATES
Application Submission due: April 15, 2026
On Campus Check-In: June 22, 2026
Forum Orientation: June 22, 2026
Forum: June 23-29, 2026
EVENT HIGHLIGHTS
Expert-led Workshops
The Forum strives to provide expert-to-student mentoring opportunities. The 2026 Forum offers One-on-One meetings with the senior academic advisor.
Paper Poster Session
The Forum offers doctoral students the opportunity to present their research through poster sessions, receive feedback from experts, and engage in academic discussions with fellow participants.
Social Events
The 2026 Forum provide exclusive opportunities for doctoral students worldwide
to closely interact with China star enterprises. Corporate site visits will be organized during the forum.
APPLICATION SUBMISSION
Doctoral students with diverse academic and cultural backgrounds are invited to
submit:
▪ Curriculum Vitae
▪ Research Papers
The forum encourages paper submissions on original work (including recently published work) in the field of economics, finance, business administration, data science and AI. The maximum paper submission capacity is two. Papers that are China related are strongly encouraged.
Copyright of the submitted work is held by the author/owner.
We welcome applicants send your application material to the following email address:
gdf2026@163.com with the email title labeling as “Name + University Name + 2026 International Doctoral Forum”.
Application portfolio will be carefully reviewed by the Forum Selection Committee according to the quality of research papers and overall experience and backgrounds of the applicants. Successfully selected applicants will be notified via email.
LOGISTICS & FUNDING SUPPORT
Expenses: The Forum Organizing Committee covers all expenses in forum-related logistics (meals and accommodation) for each successfully selected participant during the forum. International travel expenses for arrival in and departure from Beijing are not covered.
Insurance: Participants are responsible for purchasing relevant insurance and must provide the corresponding documentations upon registering at the forum.
Forum Awards & Grants: Best Paper Award, Best Participation Award will be presented to qualified doctoral students in support of academic excellence, forum active participation. The award winner will be carefully selected by the Forum Organizing Committee who retains the ultimate authority of the final interpretation.
CONTACT US
Professor Naijing Huang
Office of International Cooperation
Central University of Finance and Economics
No. 39 South College Road
Haidian District, Beijing 100081
R. China
Email: gdf2026@163.com
Invited Speakers for 2026 International Doctoral Forum
(Note: Speakers are listed by the stroke count of their Chinese surnames, to be updated)
Zuojun Shen
Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research), the University of Hong Kong
ZuoJun Shen is Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Hong Kong and Chair Professor in Logistics and Supply Chain Management. He is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), and a Fellow of the Production and Operations Management Society (POMS). He previously served as President of POMS. His research interests focus on logistics and supply chain management, data-driven decision-making, and system optimization. He has published extensively in Operations Research and Management Science and has authored several academic monographs and textbooks. His research contributions have been recognized with prestigious international awards, including the Franz Edelman Award, INFORMS Prize, Daniel H. Wagner Prize, and the Gartner Power of the Profession Supply Chain Award. He has served as Associate Editor for the Operations Research, Management Science, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Naval Research Logistics, and IIE Transactions.
Zhaogang Song
R. Clayton Emory Chair of Real Estate and Infrastructure and Professor of Finance, Johns Hopkins University
Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, Prof. Song served as an Economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, where he was responsible for monitoring and analyzing developments in financial markets for the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).
Prof. Song conducts academic research on fixed-income markets, financial intermediaries, monetary policy, and real estate finance using various economic frameworks, including asset pricing, market structure and liquidity, financial intermediation, and macro-finance. His research also extends to financial econometrics, China's financial markets and monetary policy, and FinTech. He has published articles in leading academic journals such as the Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of Econometrics, Management Science, Real Estate Economics, and China Economic Review. His work has been recognized with important research awards, including the NASDAQ Best Paper Award in Market Microstructure, the Dennis J. Aigner Honorable Mention for the best paper in empirical econometrics published by the Journal of Econometrics, the Q Group Research Award, the Research Award of the Global Association of Risk Professionals, and the Research Award of the Montreal Institute of Structured Products and Derivatives.
Prof. Song is also actively engaged in policy matters related to financial markets and the investment practices of the asset management industry. He has served as an Academic Expert for the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), consulted with the Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) on fixed-income investment, been a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, and served as a scholar of the Thematic Research Programme at the Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research. He has published articles in practitioner and policy outlets such as the Journal of Investment Management and Liberty Street Economics of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. His research has been featured in Bloomberg, Fortune, Mortgage News Daily, and in reports by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Zhiguo He
James Irvin Miller Professor of Finance, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
Prof. He is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Senior Fellow at the Asian Bureau of Finance and Economic Research. He previously held the endowed professorship in Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and served as Director of the China Center at the Becker Friedman Institute and Co-Director of the Fama-Miller Center. He currently serves as Executive Editor of the Review of Asset Pricing Studies. He previously served as Associate Editor of the Journal of Finance and the Review of Financial Studies, and as Editor of the China Special Issue of the Review of Finance. His research has been published in leading journals including the American Economic Review, Econometrica, Review of Economic Studies, Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, and the Journal of Financial Economics. He has been the recipient of numerous international academic honors, including the Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, the Brattle Group Prize, the Amundi Smith Breeden First Prize, and the Lehman Brothers Fellowship.
Hongshuang Li
Associate Professor, Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University
Hongshuang (Alice) Li is an Associate Professor of Marketing and Logistics at the Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University. Her research focuses on digital marketing, consumer purchase journeys, marketing analytics, and the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning in marketing. She has published extensively in leading journals such as Journal of Marketing Research, Marketing Science, Production and Operations Management, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and International Journal of Research in Marketing. Her work has received numerous recognitions, including the IJRM Best Article Award and multiple Paul Green Award finalist honors. Professor Li serves as Department Editor of Decision Sciences Journal and Associate Editor of the Journal of Interactive Marketing. She is also on the Editorial Review Board of Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing, and Journal of Marketing Research, and is an MSI Associate Academic Fellow.
Shanjun Li
Steven and Roberta Denning Professor of Global Sustainability and Professor of Environmental Social Sciences, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, Stanford University
Shanjun Li is the Steven and Roberta Denning Professor of Global Sustainability and Professor of Environmental Social Sciences in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford University. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. He directs the Sustainability and Energy Transition Program at the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions (SCCEI). Prior to joining Stanford, he held the Kenneth L. Robinson Chair in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University and served as Director of the Cornell Institute for China Economic Research. His research focuses on environmental and energy economics, urban and transportation economics, empirical industrial organization, and the Chinese economy. He has made important contributions to the study of energy transition, environmental governance, transportation policy, and the development of clean energy industries. His work has been published in leading journals including American Economic Review, Review of Economic Studies, International Economic Review, Journal of Public Economics, Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Urban Economics, and Management Science. Professor Li currently serves as Co-Editor of the Journal of Public Economics and the International Journal of Industrial Organization, and as Associate Editor of the China Economic Review. He is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and a University Fellow at Resources for the Future (RFF).
Qiaowei Shen
Professor of Marketing, Peking University
Qiaowei Shen is Professor of Marketing at Guanghua School of Management, Peking University, and Changjiang Distinguished Professor of the Ministry of Education. Her research interests include quantitative models of firm and consumer decision-making, social and new media, and marketing strategy. Her research has been published in the Marketing Science and the Management Science. She was nominated for the 2014 INFORMS Marketing Science John D. C. Little Best Paper Award and received the Excellent Young Scientists Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) in 2017. She currently serves on the editorial boards of the Marketing Science, the Journal of Marketing, and the International Journal of Research in Marketing, and acts as Secretary-General of the China Marketing Association of Universities.
Xi Wu
Dean and Professor, School of Accountancy, Central University of Finance and Economics
Xi Wu is Dean and Professor of the School of Accountancy at the Central University of Finance and Economics, and Deputy Chair of the University Academic Committee. He previously served in the Professional Standards Department of the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants under the Ministry of Finance. His research focuses on accounting, auditing, and capital market governance. His work has been published in leading international and Chinese academic journals, including The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Accounting Research, Economic Research Journal, Management World, China Economic Quarterly, Accounting Research, Journal of Financial Research, and Auditing Research. He has served as Associate Editor of the China Journal of Accounting Studies, Editorial Board Member of Contemporary Accounting Research, Associate Editor of the British Accounting Review, and rotating Associate Editor of Auditing Research. He also serves as a referee for numerous academic journals, including The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting Research, Contemporary Accounting Research, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Management Science, Management World, China Economic Quarterly, and Accounting Research. He received the AJPT Outstanding Reviewer Award and the BAR Outstanding Associate Editor Award. His research has received several academic honors, including the First Prize for Outstanding Paper from the Accounting Society of China, the Best Paper Award from the China Journal of Accounting Studies, and the Best Paper Award from the American Accounting Association journal Accounting Horizons. He has completed a research project funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China that received an “Outstanding” evaluation. He currently serves as a member of the National Steering Committee for Graduate Education in Professional Auditing and has previously served as a member of the Auditing Standards Group, the Appeals and Rights Protection Committee, and the Industry Talent Development Committee of the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Xiaoyan Zhang
Chair Professor of Finance, Associate Dean, PBC School of Finance, Tsinghua University
Xiaoyan Zhang is Associate Dean and Xinyuan Chair Professor of Finance at the PBC School of Finance, Tsinghua University. She concurrently serves as Deputy Director of the Tsinghua Institute of FinTech and Director of the Center for Wealth Management and the Center for Real Estate and FinTech. She serves as a member of the Academic Committee of the People’s Bank of China, a member of the World Economic Forum Future Council, Senior Financial Expert of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Senior Expert of the Asian Bureau of Finance and Economic Research (ABFER), Vice Chair of the Academic Committee of the China Global Economic Governance 50 Forum, Council Member of the China Wealth Management 50 Forum, and member of the FinTech Development and Research Committee of the National Internet Finance Association of China. Her primary research areas include China’s capital markets, financial technology, empirical asset pricing, and international finance. Her research has been published in The Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, and Review of Financial Studies. She serves as Co-Editor of the Journal of Banking and Finance and Associate Editor of Management Science, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Journal of Empirical Finance, and Financial Management.
Jin Zhang
Professor and Associate Dean, Renmin University of China Business School
Jin Zhang is Professor and Associate Dean at the School of Business, Renmin University of China, and Executive Associate Dean of the Institute for World-Class Enterprises. He has been selected for the National Major Talent Program for Young Scholars. His primary research areas include artificial intelligence and digital economy, big data analytics and management, and machine learning and business intelligence. His research has been published in the MIS Quarterly, INFORMS Journal on Computing, and the Management World. He has authored several academic monographs and textbooks, and has led multiple key programs, general programs, and young scholar programs funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. He has received the Award for Outstanding Scientific Research Achievement in Higher Education Institutions, the Doctoral Academic Rising Star Award, the Beijing Outstanding Achievement Award in Philosophy and Social Sciences, and the Theoretical Contribution Award of the China Information Economics Society.
Yi Lu
Chair Professor, PBC School of Finance, Tsinghua University
Yi Lu is Chair Professor at the PBC School of Finance, Tsinghua University. He is a selected scholar of a national-level talent program, a Beijing Distinguished Young Scientist, and the inaugural recipient of the China Young Economist Award. He was included in the list of the world’s top 2% scientists in economics in 2024 and ranks among the top 5 economists globally over the past decade according to RePEc. He has published dozens of papers in leading international journals including American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of International Economics, Journal of Labor Economics, Journal of Public Economics, and Journal of Development Economics, as well as more than ten papers in leading Chinese journals including Social Sciences in China, Economic Research Journal, and Management World. He has led multiple major national and ministerial research projects. Several policy research reports have been endorsed by central government leaders and adopted by ministries. He has received the Award for Outstanding Scientific Research Achievement in Higher Education Institutions, the Pushan Award, and the An Zijie International Trade Research Award. He currently serves as Associate Editor of American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Co-Editor of China & World Economy, Associate Editor of China Economic Journal, Member of the China Finance 40 Forum, Vice President of the Chinese World Economy Society, and Vice Chairman of the Chinese Industrial Economics Association. He also serves as Director or Deputy Director of multiple research centers and institutes at Tsinghua University.
Junjian Yi
Boya Distinguished Professor, Peking University; Professor of Economics, Peking University
Junjian Yi is Boya Distinguished Professor at Peking University and Professor of Economics at the National School of Development. He serves as Chair of the Academic Committee of the National School of Development. His primary research areas include AI economics, health economics, labor economics, development economics, econometrics, and behavioral economics. His representative work has been published in the Journal of Political Economy, Review of Economic Studies, Management Science, Demography, Lancet, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He currently serves as Executive Editor of China Economic Quarterly and Associate Editor of the Journal of Comparative Economics.
Jianjun Miao
Tsingshan Chair Professor at School of Economics, Dean of the School of Economics and Dean of the Academy of Financial Research, Zhejiang University
Professor Miao’s research fields are macroeconomics and finance and their interface with decision theory, information economics, public finance, and industrial organization. His main research areas are the macroeconomic implications of bubbles and crashes, theory and applications of decision making under uncertainty, rational inattention, business cycles, fiscal and monetary policies, dynamic contracts, asset pricing, and corporate finance. He is a Fellow of SAET, a senior Fellow of ABFER, an associate editor of American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, Economic Theory, and Journal of Monetary Economics, and a former associate editor of Macroeconomic Dynamics，Quantitative Economics， and Journal of Mathematical Economics. He is the founder of the China International Conference in Macroeconomics (CICM) and the China Forum of Macroeconomic Research, a founder of China Macroeconomic Research Alliance. Professor Miao has published over 60 papers in major international journals, 6 of which are in top 5 economics journals American Economic Review and Econometrica, 2 are in top 3 science journals PNAS joint with Nobel Prize Winner Lars Hansen, 5 are in top 3 finance journals Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics and Review of Financial Studies, 17 are in top economics journals such as American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, International Economic Review, Journal of Economic Theory, , Journal of Monetary Economics, Quantitative Economics, and Theoretical Economics. He published three books and won a best paper prize in 2009 CICF.
Dacheng Xiu
Joseph Sondheimer Professor of Econometrics and Statistics, Booth School of Business; Affiliated Faculty, Department of Statistics, University of Chicago
Dacheng Xiu is a Professor of Econometrics and Statistics at Booth School of Business, University of Chicago. His research interests include developing statistical methodologies and applying them to financial data, while exploring their economic implications. His current work focuses on developing machine learning solutions to big-data problems in empirical asset pricing. Prof. Xiu’s work has appeared in Econometrica, Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of the American Statistical Association, and Annals of Statistics. He currently serves as Co-Editor of the Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, and has been on the editorial board as an Associate Editor for many journals, including the Journal of Finance, Journal of the American Statistical Association, Management Science, and Journal of Econometrics. He has received several recognitions for his research, including Fellow and Council Member of the Society for Financial Econometrics, Fellow of the Journal of Econometrics, Dimensional Fund Advisors Prize, Bates-White Prize, Swiss Finance Institute Outstanding Paper Award, AQR Insight Award, and Best Conference Paper Prize from the European Finance Association. He has been recognized as one of Poets & Quants’ Best 40-under-40 Business School Professors.
Haoyu Gao
Wu Yuzhang Distinguished Professor; Deputy Chair, Department of Monetary Economics, Renmin University of China
Haoyu Gao is the Wu Yuzhang Distinguished Professor at Renmin University of China. He serves as Deputy Chair of the Department of Monetary Economics at the School of Finance and Deputy Director of the China Banking Research Center. He is a recipient of the National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars and a selected fellow of the 5th Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program of the China Association for Science and Technology. His primary research areas include banking and financial intermediation, financial risk management, sustainable finance, and China’s capital markets. His representative academic work has been published in The Journal of Finance, The Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Review of Finance (ROF), Journal of Management Sciences in China, Management World, Journal of Financial Research, and The Journal of World Economy. He serves as Associate Editor (Finance) of Management Science and as Associate Editor of Corporate Governance: An International Review, International Journal of Finance, and Systems Science and Mathematics. He previously served as Guest Editor of the Pacific-Basin Finance Journal.
