MERICS Data Conference on China

Our Data Conference on China will take place from 23 to 24 October 2025 in Berlin as part of the MERICS project “China Tech Observatory”. Funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) we are researching China’s progress and development dynamics in selected critical technology sectors. This is the second of three annual conferences planned for the project. Antonia Hmaidi, Senior Analyst at MERICS leads the organization of this conference in collaboration with Jessica Batke, Senior Editor at ChinaFile and a MERICS Senior Associate Fellow for this conference.

Collecting and analyzing data from China is essential for monitoring and assessing recent developments, yet it is also becoming increasingly difficult. We are all grappling with increasing restrictions on data access and some disappearing online resources. To enable us in Europe to better conduct data research on China, this conference is designed to encourage discussion and best practice sharing among data practitioners across private sector, media, academia and think tanks. Topics will include data access limitations and circumvention, different types of data, and how to present data-driven insights to non-experts.