CHAIR OF
Economics and Politics of China














Prof. Lei Li holds the Professorship in Economics and Politics of China (Professur für Wirtschaft und Politik Chinas) at the Faculty of Business and Economics and the Faculty of Humanities at Georg-August-Universität Göttingen. Before joining the University of Göttingen in 2024, she served as an Assistant Professor (W1) at the University of Mannheim. She received her Ph.D. in Economics from Tsinghua University. She is affiliated with CESifo and IZA.


Her research focuses on the Chinese economy, particularly in the areas of international trade. Her work covers three key topics: trade disputes, including the US-China trade war and the EU-China trade dispute; the impact of globalization on the environment from the perspective of political economy; and labor market consequences of globalization, with an emphasis on skill-biased technological change, human capital accumulation, wage inequality, migration, and agglomeration.





Portait of Li Lei arms crossed wearing business attire


Prof. Lei Li, Ph.D.



























News






News






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02.07.2026

Göttingen China Workshop on Globalization, Macroeconomics, and Development



The second Göttingen China Workshop on Globalization, Macroeconomics, and Development takes place on July 2 and 3, 2026, at the Central Lecture Hall ZHG in Göttingen.








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© Kiel Institut | Elisabeth Radke


30.06.2026

China in the Global Economy – 3rd Kiel-Göttingen-CEPR Conference



The third Kiel-Göttingen-CEPR Conference “China in the Global Economy” takes place on June 30 and July 1, 2026, in Berlin.








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08.06.2026

International Economics in Times of Geoeconomic Challenges



The conference “International Economics in Times of Geoeconomic Challenges” takes place on June 8 and 9, 2026, in Bad Homburg.








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10.04.2026

ECON 30th Anniversary Workshop, SeriesLingnan University – University of Göttingen Joint Workshop on Economic Development










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2025

Skill-Biased Imports, Skill Acquisition, and Migration



The paper by Jingting Fan and Lei Li studies how capital goods imports affect skill acquisition and migration in China and is published in the Journal of International Economics.








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© IWH Kiel | Thomas Trutschel


17.07.2025

China in the Global Economy – 2nd Kiel-Göttingen-CEPR Conference



The second Kiel-Göttingen-CEPR Conference “China in the Global Economy” took place on July 17 and 18, 2025, at the Leibniz Association in Berlin.








Group picture


15.07.2025

Göttingen China Workshop on Globalization and Development



The Göttingen China Workshop on Globalization and Development, held on July 15 and 16, 2025, provided a vibrant platform for scholarly exchange between researchers from China, Germany, and other European institutions.








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07.09.2023

Workshop “Trade, Firms, and Economic Development”



The workshop “Trade, Firms, and Economic Development” took place on September 7 and 8, 2023, at Hotel Hardtwald in Bad Homburg.








Who pays for the tariffs and why


07.07.2023

Who Pays for the Tariffs and Why: The Asymmetric Tariff Pass-Through between China and the US



Research by Chaonan Feng, Liyan Han, and Lei Li examines the asymmetric tariff pass-through between China and the US during the US-China trade war. The study finds that Chinese importers paid around 68% of China’s retaliatory tariffs, while US importers shouldered around 93% of US tariffs.




















OUR TEAM


Get to know the team!








  • Portrait of Li Lei



    Chairholder

    Prof. Lei Li, Ph.D.





  • Portrait of Steffi Goeldner wearing business attire.



    Secretary

    Steffi Göldner






  • Porträtfoto von Hua Liu



    Research Assistant

    Hua Liu






  • Portrait of Tong Zhang



    Visiting Scholar

    Dr. Tong Zhang






  • Portrait of Tong Zhang



    Doctoral Researcher

    Niklas Kirsamer