Located in the Tianjin Technical and Economic Development Area, CNANE is the organization responsible for coordinating China’s commercial nanotechnology and applied nanoscience activities.

Dr. Xu’s visit was one stop on an official tour of a number of U.S. universities and R&D centers that focus on nanotechnology. Immediately prior to his arrival at UCSB, Professor Xu toured research centers in Silicon Valley.

Dr. Xu’s visit to CNS-UCSB was hosted by CNS Executive Committee member Dr. Richard Appelbaum. Dr. Appelbaum is the leader of CNS’ Global Diffusion of Nanotechnologies research group, and spent two and a half weeks in China this past summer studying factors affecting the development of Chinese nanotechnology organizations.

“During his visit to CNS, Dr. Xu noted that little attention is being paid to the social impacts of nanotechnology in China,” Appelbaum said. “He was hopeful that CNS will be able to provide assistance to his organization in addressing such issues.”

At UCSB, Dr. Xu was officially greeted by Chancellor Henry Yang. During his brief visit he also met with nanotechnology researchers with UCSB’s California NanoSystems Institute, as well as with members of the UCSB Economics Department.

Dr. Xu is an economist who holds a Ph.D. from the Department of Finance and Trade, Chinese Academy of Social Science Graduate School. In addition to his position at CNANE, Dr. Xu is a Professor of Economics at the China National School of Administration (CNSA) in Beijing, the leading training center for China’s top policy-makers, many of whom have been Professor Xu’s students. He is also Secretary General of the China Association of Government Economics Research, and a Visiting Professor at the Lancaster University Management School in the UK. He conducts research in the areas of public finance, macroeconomic policy, and management innovation.

Dr. Xu has been involved in drafting and revising China’s numerous laws governing education and economic development, including the Budget Law, Compulsory Education Law, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Law, and the Financial Transfer Payment Law. In addition, Dr. Xu has directed four World Bank research projects, as well as a dozen Key Projects for the National Natural Science Fund and National Social Science Fund as part of China’s Ninth Five-Year Plan.
He has published widely in publications including the People’s Daily, Economic Daily News, Guangming Daily and Finance Research. He has also published numerous books, some of which have been translated from Mandarin into other languages.

To learn more about Dr. Xu’s visit, please contact Dr. Richard Appelbaum at rich@isber.ucsb.edu , or by phone at (805) 893-7230.