On June 17, 2025, the 27th Song Zexing Lecture by Overseas Prestigious Scholars was held at Puhe Campus. Professor Qiu Dongxiao, Head of the Department of Economics and a renowned economist from Lingnan University, Hong Kong was invited to deliver an academic lecture titled “Economic Growth, International Trade, and Innovation.” Professor Yu Miaojie, a deputy to the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC), member of the Standing Committee of the 14th Liaoning Provincial People’s Congress and President of Liaoning University (LNU) attended the lecture and delivered a welcome speech. The lecture was chaired by Professor Gao Ming, Vice Dean of Sunwah International Business School of Liaoning University.
Professor Qiu commenced his presentation with a series of facts concerning economic growth, innovation, and international trade. Using accessible language, he reviewed the fundamental measurement methods of economic growth and the incentive mechanisms for innovation with the audience. He summarized three classical mechanisms on how international trade influences economic growth, leading into one of the most cutting-edge research questions in international trade as well as the theme of the lecture: how international trade promotes economic growth by stimulating innovation. He noted out that international trade can affect innovation incentives through four mechanisms: market size, competition, industrial structure and knowledge spillovers. The effects of these incentives, he explained, can be understood through changes in innovation costs and market profits. Overall, exports typically promote innovation, while imports may either promote or inhibit it. Trade wars, he noted, increase market uncertainty and dampen innovation incentives. Finally, he used a case study of a Hong Kong enterprise to analyze how entrepreneurs can leverage international trade to stimulate innovation and achieve value chain upgrading within supply chains.
Professor Qiu’s lecture earned warm applause from the audience. During the Q&A session, he provided detailed and patient responses to questions posed by faculty, students and entrepreneur attendees, engaging in a cordial dialogue and discussion.
At the conclusion, President Yu Miaojie presented Professor Qiu with the Letter of Appointment as LNU’s Lifetime Honorary Professor. Professor Wang Weiguang, Deputy Dean of the LNU Division of Economics presented Professor Qiu with the Song Zexing Lecture by Overseas Prestigious Scholars commemorative plaque. Professor Dong Baomin, Deputy Dean of Division of Economics presented Professor Qiu with a photo commemorating the lecture. Professor Wang Xiaohui, Dean of the Sunwah International Business School presented Professor Qiu with a university cap. Professor Liu Wenge, Dean of the School of International Economics and International Relations presented Professor Qiu with a university badge.
This lecture was hosted by LNU Division of Economics and undertaken by LNU Sunwah International Business School. Principal leaders from relevant schools affiliated with the division, over 200 representatives of faculty and students and entrepreneur members from the Liaoning Provincial Young Entrepreneurs Association attended the lecture.
Introduction to Qiu Dongxiao：
Dongxiao Qiu is a Ph.D from University of British Columbia. He is currently Head of the Department of Economics of Lingnan University, Hong Kong. He held positions at top institutions including the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), the University of Hong Kong (HKU), Peking University and Tsinghua University. He served as president of the Hong Kong Economic Association, fostering the vigorous development of Hong Kong’s economics community. As a member of the Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education of Hong Kong, he integrated his academic expertise into social service. His research achievements have been supported by the research fund of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government for many times and he has presided over many consultancy projects for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and won T.K.Ann International Trade Award twice, the highest prize in international trade research.
He has long been dedicated to the research in international trade theory, firm heterogeneity, trade policy evaluation and global value chains. He has proposed numerous innovative and forward-looking insights regarding China’s position and policy analysis within the global trading system. His research findings have been published in top international journals such as the Journal of International Economics, the Rand Journal of Economics, and the Journal of Development Economics. His Google Scholar citation count approaches 5,000, with his seminal JIE paper on “Imported Intermediate Inputs and Innovation” becoming a benchmark in the field. His in-depth analysis of Chinese firms’ dynamic adjustments within globalization provides crucial reference points for trade policies in developing countries. His exploration of how China achieves industrial upgrading through participation in global value chains has not only propelled the development of China’s international trade discipline but also offered significant insights into understanding China’s role in the global trading system. He founded the China Trade Research Group (CTRG) and served as its inaugural President, connecting Chinese economists worldwide in the field of international trade. He has established a core academic platform for international trade research and nurtured generations of internationally recognized trade scholars rooted in China, opening a new chapter for China’s international trade academia.
