On August 12, Ma Huaide, President of China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL), met with a delegation from Yale University at the university’s Haidian Campus. The delegation was led by Professor Samuel Kortum, Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and Chair of Yale Department of Economics. He is renowned as a co-founder of the influential Eaton-Kortum model, a seminal framework for asymmetric multi-regional trade patterns among heterogeneous firms. Also in attendance was Professor Lorenzo Caliendo, Deputy Dean of Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs and Professor at Yale School of Management. CUPL Vice President Lu Chunlong and other university officials were also present at the meeting.
Ma Huaide in conversation with Samuel Kortum. Photo by Zhang Juntong
President Ma Huaide extended a warm welcome to the Yale delegation and recalled the long-standing friendly exchanges between the two universities. He specifically referenced two significant events: the congratulatory video message from then-President of Yale, Peter Salovey, during CUPL’s 70th anniversary celebrations, and the keynote speech delivered by Paul Gewirtz, Director of Yale’s Paul Tsai China Center, at the inaugural World Jurists Forum hosted by CUPL. President Ma highlighted CUPL’s achievements in international education and its interdisciplinary edge in fields such as law, economics, and data law. Noting the solid cooperative foundation established through past exchanges, he expressed hope to elevate bilateral collaboration to new heights in the future.
To this end, President Ma put forward three concrete proposals: first, to deepen interdisciplinary research collaboration by integrating Yale’s pioneering research in economics with CUPL’s disciplinary strengths, thereby developing innovative solutions for global governance; second, to strengthen institutional cooperation and jointly organize high-level academic events by utilizing CUPL’s hosting of the 5th Annual Workshop on Bridging the Gap between CGE and NQTMS; third, to enhance faculty and student exchanges through joint talent cultivation programs, including establishing pathways for CUPL students to pursue advanced studies at Yale. President Ma also extended a sincere invitation to both professors to attend the Third World Jurists Forum in 2026.
Samuel Kortum spoke highly of CUPL’s achievements, noting that data has become a core resource in both academic and commercial fields. He emphasized CUPL’s leading position in data law as a unique opportunity for collaboration and expressed his hope to address complex global challenges through interdisciplinary research. Lorenzo Caliendo noted that Yale established the Jackson School of Global Affairs three years ago, whose interdisciplinary approach closely corresponds with CUPL’s development strategy. He expressed confidence that joint innovation between the two universities in law and economics would open new academic frontiers.
During the exchange, Shi Jianzhong, former Vice President of CUPL who currently serves as Director of the Ministry of Education’s Philosophy and Social Sciences Laboratory — CUPL Laboratory of Data on the Rule of Law, and Dean of the Institute of Data Law, remarked that the digital era has bestowed upon both legal and economic disciplines a shared mission: achieving the dialectical unity of efficiency and justice through data-driven quantitative analysis. He envisioned the CUPL-Yale partnership evolving into a flagship model of interdisciplinary research bridging jurisprudence and economics.
The participants in a group photo. Photo by Zhang Juntong
Following the meeting, Samuel Kortum and his delegation are scheduled to participate in the Symposium on the Frontiers of International Trade and the 5th Annual Workshop on Bridging the Gap between CGE and NQTMS, where they will engage in substantive discussions on cutting-edge interdisciplinary topics at the intersection of law and economics. The event was also attended by Yale researcher Anton Yang, along with CUPL representatives including Deputy Director of the Data Law Lab Wang Limei, lecturer Wang Yuting, postdoctoral fellows Ye Yiqun and Liu Qian, Assistant Dean of the Business School Wu Yunxian, Associate Professor of the School of Law and Economics Ren Zeyu, Director of the Office of International Cooperation and Exchange Lyu Yong, accompanied by relevant staff members.
