# Event Details - **Event Name**: The Politics of China’s Pension Reform in State and Public Institutions - **Event Start and End Date**: Thu, 06 Nov, 2025 at 12:30 pm – Thu, 06 Nov, 2025 at 02:00 pm - **Event Description**: In this research talk, Zihui Xie examines China’s pension cuts, showing how idea shifts, tech, and local strategies managed resistanceAbout this EventWith over twenty years of government efforts, the Chinese government finally launched a pension reform in 2015, with an intention to end the dual-track pension system between enterprise workers and publicly-financed personnel. Scholars in the field of China’s pension policy mostly focus on the remarkable institutional equity side of the reform, however, they underexplore a significant policy change occurred after 2015 in relation to tightening privileged pension rights of civil servants and public institution employees. Adapted from welfare retrenchment theories developed in multi-party democracies, my research aims to answer the question of how China’s national authorities and subnational governments pushed through and implemented a pension reform for publicly-financed personnel despite opposition and resistance. I find that there was a two-level use of government strategies, some—but not all—of which resembled those used in multi-party democracies. At the national level, the central government used similar strategies of obfuscation, division and compensation, and developed a new strategy of expectation shaping. Locally, subnational governments used similar strategies of obfuscation and compensation, and developed new strategies of persuasion and delay. This research improves our understanding of retrenchment process in single-party political systems such as China.ABOUT THE SPEAKERZihui Xie is a PhD student in Politics at the University of Glasgow. She received her bachelor’s degree in social security from Jilin University, and master’s degree in social policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her PhD thesis focuses on the politics of China’s pension reform in state organs and public institutions by using methods including in-depth interviews, documentary analysis and process tracing method. Her PhD project was partially funded by the UCCL Travel and Study Grants and the GBCET Awards. Her research interests include China’s pension reform and Chinese politics, comparative politics, policy-making processes, policy change and institutional change. https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events3/banners/3503fbc0-aac8-11f0-927e-890fa17a9fc9-rimg-w577-h740-dcffffff-gmir.jpg AccessibilityThe MCI is a listed building and therefore does not have any lifts. Please note that you must use the stairs in order to access the venue and the toilets.PhotographyThe organisers will be taking photos during this event. If you prefer not to be included in any photos, kindly inform the organisers before the event starts. - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/manchester/the-politics-of-chinas-pension-reform-in-state-and-public-institutions/100001713297943269 - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 0, max: 0, currency: GBP ## Event venue details - **city**: Manchester - **state**: EN - **country**: United Kingdom - **location**: Manchester China Institute - **lat**: 53.4668498 - **long**: -2.2338836999999785 - **full address**: Manchester China Institute, 178 Waterloo Place, Manchester, United Kingdom ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: The Politics of China’s Pension Reform in State and Public Institutions - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/7720f697dde2720d3c6cb54fc89434f09de5b93b0521e7f353da954171d7a306-rimg-w1200-h675-dc472651-gmir.jpg?v=1760643740 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is The Politics of China s Pension Reform in State and Public Institutions being held? - **A:** The Politics of China s Pension Reform in State and Public Institutions takes place on Thu, 06 Nov, 2025 at 12:30 pm to Thu, 06 Nov, 2025 at 02:00 pm at Manchester China Institute, 178 Waterloo Place, Manchester, United Kingdom. - **Q**: Who is organizing The Politics of China s Pension Reform in State and Public Institutions? - **A:** The Politics of China s Pension Reform in State and Public Institutions is organized by The Manchester China Institute. ## Structured Data (JSON-LD) ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Event", "name": "The Politics of China’s Pension Reform in State and Public Institutions", "image": "https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/7720f697dde2720d3c6cb54fc89434f09de5b93b0521e7f353da954171d7a306-rimg-w1200-h675-dc472651-gmir.jpg?v=1760643740", "startDate": "2025-11-06", "endDate": "2025-11-06", "url": "https://allevents.in/manchester/the-politics-of-chinas-pension-reform-in-state-and-public-institutions/100001713297943269", "location": { "@type": "Place", "name": "Manchester China Institute", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "178 Waterloo Place", "postalCode": "M13 9PL", "addressLocality": "Manchester", "addressRegion": "EN", "addressCountry": "GB" }, "geo": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": "53.4668498", "longitude": "-2.2338836999999785" } }, "eventAttendanceMode": "https://schema.org/OfflineEventAttendanceMode", "description": "In this research talk, Zihui Xie examines China’s pension cuts, showing how idea shifts, tech, and local strategies managed resistance", "offers": [ { "@type": "AggregateOffer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "GBP", "availabilityStarts": "2026-10-12", "availabilityEnds": "2025-11-06", "validFrom": "2026-10-12", "lowPrice": "0.00", "highPrice": "0.00", "price": "0.00", "url": "https://allevents.in/manchester/the-politics-of-chinas-pension-reform-in-state-and-public-institutions/100001713297943269" }, { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "GBP", "availabilityStarts": "2026-10-12", "availabilityEnds": "", "validFrom": "2026-10-12", "url": "https://allevents.in/manchester/the-politics-of-chinas-pension-reform-in-state-and-public-institutions/100001713297943269", "price": 0, "name": "General Admission" } ], "organizer": [ { "@type": "Organization", "name": "The Manchester China Institute", "url": "https://allevents.in/org/the-manchester-china-institute/17681302", "description": "Manchester China Institute (MCI) promotes greater understanding of China and globalisation in the modern world. \r\nMCI acts as a focal point at the University of Manchester for people interested in UK-China relations and China in general. We provide a venue where ideas and projects can be shared and developed.\r\nMCI brings together experts from across the University of Manchester, enabling multidisciplinary collaborations spanning the arts, humanities, sciences, and health.\r\nOur vision is to create a truly multidisciplinary institute studying China today, with a focus on globalisation and international affairs. The Institute's mission will be to better understand China's expanding role in a rapidly globalising world, and to promote mutual understanding between the UK and China. We're able to embark on this thanks to the foresight and generosity of Dr Lee.\r\nProf Peter Gries /\r\nThe Manchester China Institute Director" } ] } ] ```