Dear colleagues, I am writing to share the following conference information for those who may be interested. Cheers! Rongbin *Digital Statecraft and Political Economy in China Conference* *May 8-9, 2026* *University of California, Berkeley* *Conference website:* *www.dspeconference.com* <http://www.dspeconference.com/> Digital technologies—from big data, AI, and algorithmic governance to cloud computing and data infrastructures—are transforming how states drive development, govern society, exercise authority, and compete globally. This conference brings together fourteen in-depth qualitative studies that examine how state actors deploy digital tools in practice, and how political institutions shape technological development. Focusing on China as a strategically significant and theoretically generative case, the conference opens the “black box” of digital governance beyond dominant computational approaches and macro-level analyses. The papers foreground core political science concerns, including state capacity, bureaucratic behavior, regulatory governance, and state–business relations. Moving beyond conventional “digital authoritarianism” frameworks, the conference highlights on-the-ground politics, institutional constraints, and the organizational dynamics that mediate how digital power is exercised. The papers engage broader debates on the transformation of the state under digitalization, the political economy of data, platforms, digital industries, and the shifting terrain of geopolitical competition. Interdisciplinary and international in scope, the conference features scholars from four continents. It will be held at UC Berkeley and is open to the public, with *both onsite and online* participation. Breakfast and lunch will be provided for onsite attendees. Registration is required; online access details will be shared upon registration. *Register here:* https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdqfT0H_0j6GL2RT50n_AQgHMcU37MKBoHq... *Organizers:* Yan Long, UC Berkeley, Department of Sociology Le Lin, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Department of Sociology Zhifan Luo, McMaster University, Department of Sociology *Sponsors:* UC Berkeley Sociology Department, Berkeley Economy and Society Initiative, Fudan-UC Center *Contact* For questions regarding the conference, registration, or attendance, please contact the coordinator, Zhehang Zhang (UC Berkeley, Department of Sociology) at zhehang@berkeley.edu ____ Rongbin Han Professor Department of International Affairs University of Georgia *Make China Great Again <https://cup.columbia.edu/book/make-china-great-again/9780231220545/>* (Columbia UP, 2026) *Contesting Cyberspace in China <https://cup.columbia.edu/book/contesting-cyberspace-in-china/9780231184755>* (Columbia UP, 2018) *Directed Digital Dissidence in Autocracies <https://global.oup.com/academic/product/directed-digital-dissidence-in-autocracies-9780197680384>* (Oxford UP, 2023) with J. Gainous, A. MacDonald, and K. Wagner *The Xi Jinping Effect <https://uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295752815/the-xi-jinping-effect/>* (U. Washington Press, 2024), co-edited with A. Esarey