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CALL FOR PAPERS

18^th International Conference on Agriculture and Rural Development in China
 ICARDC XVIII

“Rural China Unbound:  Exploring New Concepts, Theories and Paradigms”

11-13 December 2026

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

Submission Deadline: 30 May 2026

Dear All,

The Department of Applied Social Sciences (APSS) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and the China and Global Development Network (CGDN) of APSS at PolyU are pleased to host the 18th International Conference on Agriculture and Rural Development in China in Hong Kong from 11 to 13 December 2026.

The International Conference on Agriculture and Rural Development in China (ICARDC) Network was established in 1989 and since then has organised many well-visited international conferences in and outside of China. ICARDC has led to numerous publications on the multi-faceted aspects of China’s agricultural and rural development and currently has close to 400 members around the world.

Hosted by PolyU, the theme of this year’s conference is “Rural China Unbound: Exploring New Concepts, Theories and Paradigms”. The Chinese countryside has often been studied through dualistic frameworks such as “rural” vs. “urban”, “city” vs. “countryside”, etc. Under new institutional reforms and emergent dynamics shaped by technological change, state ambitions, and market forces, such binary frameworks warrant critical rethinking. This conference seeks to traverse these boundaries and create dialogue across theoretical and methodological approaches. 

We welcome both individual abstract submissions and organised panel proposals by the deadline of 30 May 2026. For submission guidelines please refer to the attached Call for Papers or visit the conference website at: https://www.icardc.org/icardc-xviii/ 

For any enquiries, please feel free to get in touch with the PolyU Organising Committee at [email protected] or the ICARDC Secretariat at [email protected].

Thank you and we greatly look forward to your participation!

 Yours faithfully,

China and Global Development Network,
 Department of Applied Social Sciences,
 The Hong Kong Polytechnic University