On September 8, the Fifth Annual Conference of the ACSI in conjunction with a book launch by Fudan University was held in University College Dublin (UCD). With a theme of "New Economic Growth Engine for China and Ireland", it was held jointly by the UCD Confucius Institute for Ireland, the School of Economics in Fudan University, the Institute of International and European Affairs and the Institute for International Integration Studies in Trinity College Dublin. More than 50 experts and scholars from UCD, Fudan University, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin Institute of Technology and University of Gothenburg exchanged views on the big issues in economics today, and had enthusiastic and productive discussions on the theme.

Professor Liming Wang, chairman of the ACSI and director of the UCD Confucius Institute for Ireland, kicked off the proceedings with his welcome address. Next, Professor Wing Thye Woo from the School of Economics in Fudan University made a brief introduction to the new book A New Economic Growth Engine for China: Confronting the Limits of Doing More of the Same, and presented a report which analyzed the main contradictions faced by China in its current economic development and the strategies to help solve them. Then, on the theme of the conference, Professor Louis Brennan from Trinity College Dublin, Professor Leo Goodstadt from Trinity College Dublin and University of Hong Kong, Professor Liming Wang from UCD and Professor Wing Thye Woo and Ming Lu from Fudan University all expressed their own opinions about whether China needed a new economic growth engine.

After the panel discussion, presentations on different topics began. All the speakers presented their own viewpoints and answered questions from other experts and scholars during the one-day conference. Their discussions and exchanges on these fundamental and critical themes created a very passionate atmosphere.

Founded in 2006, the Association for Chinese Studies in Ireland (ACSI) is devoted to academic communication and cooperation between China and Ireland on diverse fields such as politics, economics and culture. It has made a very valuable contribution to the development of the bilateral relationship, and is becoming a brand and a prestigious platform for such vital discussions and exchanges between Ireland and China in the modern world.