Education
She graduated in Foreign Modern Languages in 1996 (University of Perugia) and obtained a Masters’ degree in International Commerce (Italian Ministry of Foreign Trade, Ca’ Foscari and University of Naples L’Orientale). In 2008 she obtained a Doctoral degree in East Asian Civilization from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice in 2008.
Academic career
After a few years as adjunct professor (from 2008 to 2011) at Florence (Chinese Language and Literature) and Ca' Foscari (Chinese Language 1; 2; 3; History of China), she was jointly appointed by the Department of Economics and the Department of Asian and Mediterranean African Studies as Researcher (2012-2013) at Ca' Foscari in the disciplinary field SECS/P-01 Political Economics. She taught East Asian Economics (China) and Chinese-Italian Business Translation. From 2013 to 2017 she was a Research Fellow in the Department of International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she taught Modern East Asian History. In 2013 she qualified as Associate Professor in the macro-sector 10/N3 Central and East Asian Cultures. From 2017 to 2022, she was a Senior academic lecturer at the Faculty of Humanities of the Catholic University of Leuven, where she taught History of Contemporary China; China's Domestic and Foreign Policy; Intercultural Management in Chinese Contexts; Transnational and Global Perspectives on East Asia and, as of 2020, became Academic Coordinator of the Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Chinese Studies.
Scientific Activity (as PI and/or responsible of a Research Unit)
Start-up Grant “Writing the history of industrial enterprises in modern China. Analysing the role of local and foreign models”, KU Leuven, ott 2018 – set 2022
Marie Curie Fellow (senior) IEF (FP7) 'China's economic relations with Western Europe during the Cold War', London School of Economics and Political Science, Sep 2013 - Aug 2015. Supervisor: Prof. Arne Westad
Research Fellowship National Central Library, Taipei, Taiwan, Jun - Nov 2012
ESF fellowship "Veneto and China between fears and opportunities. The role of regional institutions in promoting the Veneto economic system', Department of International Studies, University of Padua, Jun 2011 - May 2012
Post-doctoral Fellow Chiang Ching Kuo Foundation (Taiwan) "The Early Years of Nationalisation of the Manufacturing Sector in Southern China (1949-1956)", Jun 2009 - May 2011
Participation as member in numerous national and international research programmes:
(PRIN 2005) "Economic development, political transformations and new media languages in China and Japan" Coordinator: Prof. Samarani, Ca' Foscari, Jul 2006 - Oct 2008; (PRIN 2007) "Business models and marketing strategies of Italian companies in the Chinese market". Coordinator: Prof. Vescovi, Ca' Foscari, Jul 2008 - Oct 2010; (PRIN 2009) "Retail and branding strategies in the internationalization process: made in Italy products in different sociocultural contexts". Coordinator: Prof. Aiello, University of Florence, Jul 2010 - Oct 2012; (Jun 2011 - May 2013) Progetto d'Ateneo "At the roots of the recognition of the People's Republic of China by Europe, 1960-1974. National and transnational actors and strategies. Coord: Prof. Meneguzzi, Padua; (Oct 2011 - Feb 2014) Progetto d'Ateneo "Italy, Europe, China. Economic, political and cultural relations during the Cold War (1954-1971). Coordinator: Prof. Samarani, Ca' Foscari;
(2015-2017) Collaborative project jointly funded by ESRC (UK) and RGC (HK) “China, Hong Kong, and the Long 1970’s in Global Perspective” involving a team of scholars based in Europe, HK and US, with Odd Arne Westad (Harvard) and Priscilla Roberts (HKU) as principal investigators.
(2017-2019) Collaborative project finalized at establishing research networks “Decentering models of Sino-Western relations: a perspective from economic and business history of early PRC” in collaboration with the Institute of Contemporary China (Beijing) and the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Institute of Modern History.
(2017-2019) 'Decentering models of Sino-Western relations: a perspective from economic and business history of early PRC' Project aimed at building research networks jointly funded by KU Leuven in cooperation with the Institute of Contemporary China (Beijing) and Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Institute of Modern History.
(2021-2023) Collective project funded by DFG led by Jan Zofka (Leipzig-Institut für Geschichte und Kultur des östlichen Europa) and Chen Tao (Tongji University, Shanghai) on the economic dimensions of the Sino-Soviet alliance and split.
Organization of conferences, sessions & panels:
Co-organizer of the Panel "Examining China's Trade with Socialist Europe in the 1950s from the viewpoint of enterprises", WEHC World Economic History Congress, Lund 29 July - 1 August 2025.
Co-organizer of the Session 'Internationalization of Italian and Spanish Businesses to Central, Eastern Europe and China during the second half of the XXth century: Strategies and Comparisons', EBHA European Business History Association, Lisbon 11-13 July 2024.
Co-organizer of the International Conference “Collaboration with Chinese partners”, Consultative Committee for the Chinese region, KU Leuven, June 2021 (online)
Organizer of the International Conference “Fourty years of Reforms in China’s long XXth century of modernization”, KU Leuven, November 2018
Organizer of the Panel “New China in Foreign Perspective”, presented at the International Conference “China Post-1949: National Strategy and Local Experience”, Academy of Social Sciences Shanghai, October 2017
Organizer of the Panel “Revisiting the role of Foreign Trade in Socialist Economies”, presented at the WEHC World Economic History Congress, Kyoto, August 2015
Organizer of the International Workshop “Economic encounters in the age of ideology. Exploring the business dimension of political confrontation in China, Russia, Europe (1945-1991)”, London School of Economics and Political Science, May 2015
Organizer of the Workshop “Le politiche regionali a supporto delle PMI venete in Cina: esperienze e prospettive”, University of Padua, May 2012
Organizer of the International Workshop “Zhejiang and Veneto. A Tale of Ideas and Hard Work”, Ca’ Foscari, December 2011
Organizer of the Workshop “Veneto e Cina: timori e opportunità. Il ruolo delle istituzioni regionali nella promozione del sistema economico veneto”, Università di Padova, November 2011
Scientific presentations at workshops and conferences:
"Writing the history of Asian(Sino)-European identity through film", International Conference 'Sinophone Europe', Firenze 13-14 December 2024.
"Identity, Representation and Activism in Asian/Chinese diaspora cinema in Europe", 25th Conference of the EACS European Association of Chinese Studies, Tallinn 27-31 August 2024.
"ENI as a pioneer of Italian internationalization in China (1950s-1970s)" presented at the Session 'Internationalization of Italian and Spanish Businesses to Central, Eastern Europe and China during the second half of the XXth century: Strategies and Comparisons', 30th Conference of the EBHA European Business History Association, Lisbon 11-13 July 2024.
"Interactions between Italy and China in the textile sector during the Cold War (1949-1978)", Zone Moda International Conference 'Fashion in 3D: Decolonizing, Deconstructing, Decentering', Rimini Campus, University of Bologna, 19-21 October 2023.
"Per una storia delle società di intermediazione tra Italia e Cina", Giornata di studio "Tra credito e geopolitica: i percorsi di internazionalizzazione delle imprese italiane a est nel '900", organizzato da Università Ca' Foscari Venice School of Management e Fondazione ISEC Istituto per la storia dell'età contemporanea, 6 giugno 2023.
"Gli scambi economici tra Europa occidentale e RPC durante la Guerra fredda", Convegno 'Economia e lavoro oggi in Cina', Villa Cagnola, 25-26 novembre 2022.
“High Hopes and Low Expectations. Introducing technology in the PRC in the years of the Sino-Soviet Alliance." International Workshop “Economic Dimensions of the Sino-Soviet Alliance and Split: Technology Transfers, Trade and Development Models in the Socialist World”, Leibniz-Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO), July 2021.
“The role of Business Interest Associations in West Europe's early foreign economic relations with the PRC”. International conference “The People's Republic of China's Seven Decades of Foreign Economic Relations”, University of Helsinki, 5 March 2020.
“China’s trade with European petrochemical companies in the 1960s”. The Fourth International High-Level Forum on Contemporary Chinese History (Beijing, China), Institute of Contemporary China (Beijing), September 2019
“Bridging the gap: non-Soviet contributions in motor vehicle industry in post-1949 Shanghai”. International Workshop “Fourty years of Reforms in China’s long XXth century of modernization”, KU Leuven, November 2018.
“PRC’s Early Interest in West European Automotive Technology (1950s-1960s)”. International Conference China Post-1949: National Strategy and Local Experience, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, October 2017.
“Interactions between political and non-state actors in China in the 1950s”. Colloque International "Le dialogue Asie-Europe, XIXe-XXIe siècles", Paris, Sorbonne, June 2016.
“Examining the role of Western Europe in China’s strategy of self-reliance (1962-1966)”.LSE-Sciences Po Seminar in International Contemporary History, Paris, January 2016.
“Engaging with the Storm: International Trade in Mao's China”. World Economic History Congress, Kyoto, Japan, August 2015.
“ENI’s role in China-Italy “non-governmental diplomacy” during Cold War”. World Business History Conference, Frankfurt am Main., Germany, March 2014.
“The evolving Wenzhou district: changing things, so economy keeps going”. The 18th International Euro-Asia Research Conference "The Globalisation of Asian Markets: Implications for Multinational Investors", Department of Economics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Feb 2013.
從中華文物流失回歸看華人的新文化價值與國族認同 [The return of cultural relics as a case-study to examine Chinese cultural and identity values]. Center for Chinese Studies, National Central Library, Nov 2012.
Activity as reviewer for the following academic journals:
Asia Maior
Business History
Business History Review
ComPol
Contemporary European History
Connections
China Quarterly
Diplomacy and Statecraft
Europe-Asia Studies
H-Diplo
Journal of Contemporary History
Journal of Northern Asian History
Journal of Cold War Studies
Journal of Leadership Studies
International Journal of Chinese Culture and Management
Modern Asian Studies
Sulla via del Catai
Technology and Culture
OTHER ACTIVITIES
- Community activities:
(2018 - 2022) Conceptualisation and organisation of CHINESE FRAMES - film and debate series on contemporary China for students and staff of KU Leuven and Flemish civil society on the following topics: Media representation of citizens of Asian origin in Flanders and the Netherlands (in collaboration with Cinemasia - Amsterdam); Hong Kong protests; unconventional sexuality; the Uyghur question; industry and pollution (in collaboration with Docville - Leuven); Chinese influence in Africa (in collaboration with Afrikafilmfestival - Flanders).
