ZEW Economist Appointed to the Bundestag’s China Commission
CommitteesProfessor Bettina Peters Appointed as a Founding Member of a New Expert Panel
Professor Bettina Peters, deputy head of the “Economics of Innovation and Industrial Dynamics” Research Unit at ZEW Mannheim, has been appointed to the German Bundestag’s newly established commission on trade relations with China. The constitutive meeting took place in Berlin on 19 March.
“The Chinese economy has long ceased to be merely the extended workbench of European industry. Decades of strategic economic policy in China have transformed the country, which is now a global driver of innovation and, in some areas, a technology leader. Through my work on the China Commission, I intend to help identify successful long-term strategies for Germany’s economic policy in dealing with the growing economic power of China,” says Peters.
ZEW President Achim Wambach, PhD comments: “Bettina Peters combines in-depth expertise on the innovation behaviour and investment decisions of German companies with internationally recognised research on innovation and R&D structures in China. This makes her particularly well-suited to serve on the commission. On behalf of ZEW I warmly congratulate Bettina Peters on her appointment and wish the Commission every success.”
Determining dependencies on China
In November, the Bundestag decided to establish a “Commission to Review Security-Relevant Trade Relations between Germany and China”. The experts are to examine the extent of the German economy’s dependence on China, particularly with regard to energy and raw material imports and technologies that are crucial from an economic and security policy perspective. The commission is authorised to hold public hearings with experts, stakeholders and affected parties, to commission scientific reports and expert opinions and to award research contracts.
The expert commission comprises 13 members from associations, research institutes and trade unions: alongside ZEW, these include the Federation of German Industries (BDI), the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) and the Mercator Institute for China Studies.
The commission is to present its recommendations for action and examination results annually. In addition, it reports to the Committee on Economic Affairs and Energy every six months on the progress of its work.
About Bettina Peters
Bettina Peters has been conducting research at ZEW Mannheim since 2000; she has been deputy head of the “Economics of Innovation and Industrial Dynamics” Research Unit since 2013. Peters is Honorary Professor in Innovation at the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance at the University of Luxembourg. She conducts research into various aspects of the economics of innovation and applied microeconometrics and publishes studies in various renowned journals. In addition to her academic work, she has many years of experience in evidence-based policy advice at the national and European level.
