[Commlist] CFP: Global Chinese Internets, CIRC 2027

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*Global Chinese Internets: Chinese Internet Research Conference (CIRC) 24*

*Date*
June 8 and June 9 2027, a Post-ICA Conference

*Organisers*
Dr Carwyn Morris (SOAS University of London)
Dr Lianrui Jia (University of Sheffield)
Dr Oscar Zhou (University of Kent, London and South East University Group)

*Hosts*
Department of Media Studies, SOAS University of London
SOAS China Institute, SOAS University of London

*Venue*
SOAS University of London, Russell Square, London

*Call for Papers*

China is a global actor, whether viewed from a geopolitical perspective, 
through overseas aid and investment, or via the global mobility of its 
people. As individuals travel from or engage with China, they interact 
with a variety of digital worlds: using Chinese platforms and 
technologies to navigate everyday life, interacting in digital spaces 
beyond China's digital territory, and leveraging platforms owned by 
Chinese companies as bridging spaces for global connectivity. With this 
in mind, CIRC 24 will explore global Chinese internets as an ICA 
post-conference.

To do so, this CIRC asks applicants to consider emerging discourses 
around global China (Lee, 2022; Franceschini and Loubere, 2022), the 
digitized aspects of migration and diaspora (Sun and Yu, 2022; Morris 
and Cong, 2024; Kang and Yu, 2026), the impact of Chinese companies and 
AI technologies on global communication processes (Kaye et al., 2022), 
and the globalization of Chinese internet trends, such as wanghong 
(Abidin, 2025). Just as understanding contemporary China requires 
looking at its global actions, the same is true for its digital 
dimensions. What does a global digital China look like? How does it act? 
Who is involved? And what role will Chinese AI play?

Silicon Valley, Silicon Savannah, and Chilean silicon mines are all 
parts of Chinese internets (Chen, 2026; Pollio, 2026). We believe 
analyzing Chinese internets offers key insights into both domestic and 
global digital relations, as China remains a major driver of digital 
change  domestic and global digital relations, as China remains a major 
driver of digital change  worldwide. CIRC 24 encourages exploration of 
Chinese internet culture, media and technology companies, and the ways 
Chinese digital products, platforms, and AI systems "go out." As China 
"goes out," it is also received, and that reception may manifest as a 
range of uncertainties, sanctions, investment opportunities, anxieties, 
and contestation, alongside the emergence of new cultural trends, such 
as "Chinamaxxing." This CIRC encourages reflection on how "going out" 
functions, what stays, what remains, and what changes.

Understanding Chinese internets means engaging with silicon mining 
(Gonzalez-Vicente, 2012), considering the expansion of Chinese phone 
companies across Africa (Lu, 2020), examining the role of Chinese 
technology in the energy transition, and exploring the impact of China's 
open source AI models. These developments occur simultaneously and often 
in seemingly  contradictory ways, revealing multiple possible futures 
for Chinese internets and multiple pathways towards global engagement. 
With this broad remit in mind, CIRC 24 centres China as a global actor 
and encourages participants to examine how Chinese internets and digital 
China are implicated in both small- and large-scale phenomena around the 
world. It asks how we can better understand China and its internets by 
looking at what they do beyond the borders of the PRC. These digital 
futures are planetary, extending far beyond a simple US-China binary, 
and this CIRC is interested in the disruptions (Zhang et al., 2020) and 
(dis)connections that emerge as China shifts from being the world's 
factory to becoming the world's infrastructure.

We welcome submissions addressing the following topics from a 
perspective that reflects on China as a global actor:

1. Histories and evolution of Chinese internets as a global internets
2. Chinese digital infrastructures and the making of global internets
3. Chinese digital companies, platforms, and technologies as or becoming 
global actors
4. China's role in national, regional, and local digital economies
5. Digital governance, sovereignty, and regulation around the world
6. Geopolitics and governance of global internets
7. Global internets and domestic Chinese politics or activism
8. Migration and connectivity to, from, and within China
9. Chinese digital culture in global perspective
10. The globalization, reception, and contestation of Chinese internet 
cultures
11. Global dimensions of Chinese AI development and deployment
12. Chinese open-source AI models and ecosystems
13. Chinese technologies and urban, rural, smart, or green development
14. Resource extraction, infrastructure, and the materiality of Chinese 
internets
15. Planetary digital futures beyond the US-China binary
16. Rural digital transformation in and beyond China
17. Digital collaboration between China and the world
18. Chinese digital technologies and cultural heritage

We accept the following submissions; Individual Paper, with submissions 
included in a four-person panel with 15-minute per speaker; Organised 
Panel, with four papers and an organiser; Alternative Format, a 
conference stream for non-standard formats that offer more interactive 
experiences.

Delegates may submit and present ONE paper at the conference, either as 
an Individual Paper or within an Organised Panel. Delegates may also 
make ONE additional contribution, either acting as corresponding 
organiser for, and Chairing, an Organised Panel, or participating in an 
Alternative Format as a corresponding organiser or regular member. 
Please submit each contribution separately.

A corresponding organiser may present their ONE paper in their own 
Organised Panel. In this case, we will support the organiser in finding 
another Chair.

*Submission*
Please submit through _this link_ 
<https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/PiHS0z0ULK> or scan the QR code. We 
will not accept emailed submissions.

*Sponsors*
European Research Council Starting Grant 101166145

*Financial Assistance*
There will be a limited number of accommodation bursaries for doctoral 
students and early career researchers (those within three years of PhD 
completion on temporary contracts, between contracts, or with no 
conference funds).

Accommodation bursaries will cover three nights stay in London in a 
twin-room. Information about bursaries will be provided to accepted papers.

*Publications*
We are collaborating with various journals and publishers to support 
routes to publication. If you are a journal editor or publisher and 
would be interested in having a presence at the event, please get in 
contact.

*Application Deadline*
November 30 2026 (UK Time 23.59)

*Contact*
For any questions, please email (2027circ /at/ gmail.com). We will only accept 
abstract and session submissions through this form.


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