On December 20th, the "Academic Forum on the Construction of China's Independent Knowledge System for Economic Management and the Third Journal of Economic Management Academic Forum & Luojia Economics and Management Winter Forum" was grandly held at Wuhan University. As a significant academic event promoting the development of economic and management disciplines with Chinese characteristics, this forum was jointly hosted by the Economics and Management School of Wuhan University and the Guanghua School of Management of Peking University. It was co-organized by multiple institutions, including the Advanced Research Center of Wuhan University, the Center for Economic Development Research of Wuhan University, and the Editorial Office of the Journal of Economic Management. The forum served as a high-level dialogue and in-depth exchange within the domestic economic and management academic community centered on the construction of an independent knowledge system. The event brought together over a hundred experts and scholars from dozens of institutions, including the Academy of Macroeconomic Research of the National Development and Reform Commission, Peking University, the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the University of Hong Kong. Among them, editorial board members of the Journal of Economic Management, representatives of partner journals, and specially invited guests delivered keynote speeches and participated in journal forums and thematic panel discussions covering several cutting-edge fields.

Since its inaugural issue in December 2022, the Journal of Economic Management (JEM, CN 10-1867 / F, ISSN 2097-2202) has published a total of 12 issues. In the nearly three years since its inception, JEM has consistently focused on Chinese issues, advocated for empirical research and theoretical innovation, and gradually established a solid reputation and influence within the domestic and international economic and management academic community. Following the inaugural forum held at Peking University in July 2023 and the second forum held in Xinjiang in July 2024, this third edition aims to consolidate academic wisdom, collectively explore pathways for knowledge construction grounded in Chinese practice and disciplinary subjectivity, and further strengthen the platform role of academic journals in guiding research directions, cultivating the academic ecosystem, and serving national strategies.

Part One: Welcoming Addresses

The opening ceremony of the forum was presided over by Professor Huang Minxue, Associate Dean of the Economics and Management School of Wuhan University. In his address, Xing Tao, Associate Dean of the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences at Wuhan University, pointed out that the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is profoundly reshaping the global economic and social structure. Consequently, research in economics and management must respond to the questions of our times and the needs of practice. He emphasized that constructing an independent knowledge system is not only an inherent requirement for disciplinary development but also a strategic move to serve Chinese modernization and enhance international academic discourse power. Professor Liu Qiao, Dean of the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University, reviewed Guanghua's forty-year journey of rooting its research in China's realities, pursuing studies that are "high-level yet grounded." He proposed that the construction of an independent knowledge system should adhere to value orientation, scientific methods, technological empowerment, and organized research simultaneously. He stressed that academic research must serve the overall goal of Chinese modernization, taking China's practical social issues as the core source of research, precisely aligning with national strategic needs, while also transcending the limitations of traditional research paradigms. Professor Nie Jun, Dean of the Economics and Management School of Wuhan University, introduced the school's initiatives in digital transformation, interdisciplinary platform construction, and the "Summit Plan," expressing a shared expectation for building a world-class economic and management discipline with Chinese characteristics.

Part Two: Keynote Speeches

The keynote speeches were moderated by Professor Shen Qiaowei, Associate Dean of the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University (and Professional Director of the Journal of Economic Management), and Professor Li Bin, Associate Dean of the Economics and Management School of Wuhan University.

Professor Liu Qiao, Dean of the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University (and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Economic Management), delivered a speech titled "Market Pricing Efficiency, Factor Allocation, and High-Quality Development." He pointed out that the core of constructing an independent knowledge system in finance lies in serving high-quality development. The underlying logic of China's financial evolution is the synergy between the government and the market in allocating scarce resources to key areas of modernization. Professor Liu noted that the 15th Five-Year Plan has charted the course for developing new quality productive forces tailored to local conditions. Currently, the Chinese economy faces the challenge of declining total factor productivity under traditional industrialization paradigms, and the essence of Sino-US competition is competition in enhancing total factor productivity. He emphasized that the underlying logic of China's financial development has always been to serve the modernization process. The current major challenge lies in the absence of pricing models adaptable to future emerging financial assets, leading to structural inefficiencies in pricing. He analyzed three specific issues: a capital asset valuation system compatible with Chinese modernization, the carbon emission rights pricing mechanism, and the relationship between market liquidity and pricing efficiency, offering unique insights.

 Liu, Qiao

Professor Weng Xi from the Guanghua School of Management, Peking University (Professional Director of the Journal of Economic Management), focused on the reflective topic of "The Changing Role of Economists and the Construction of an Independent Knowledge System." He proposed that as China's economy progresses towards high-quality development, the role of economists should shift from being "preachers" who introduce and propagate market mechanisms to becoming "engineers" deeply engaged in Chinese practice, dedicated to solving complex development problems. Professor Weng argued that we should base our work on the achievements of reform and opening-up and China's economic data, optimize reform designs, calibrate mainstream economic models, and seize opportunities presented by the digital economy and international experiences. This approach is necessary to navigate potential shifts in discourse power within future economic research and to shape original contributions and dominant forces in Chinese academia.

 Weng, Xi 

Professor  Lu Hai from the Guanghua School of Management, Peking University (Co-Director of the Journal of Economic Management), shared insights from four field studies on China's financial reporting and information disclosure practices, ESG practices of Chinese listed companies, carbon reporting, and the capitalization of data assets, in his speech titled "Exploring an Independent Research Framework for Accounting: Insights from Field Studies." He pointed out significant differences in the perception of characteristics of high-quality earnings between Chinese and US executives, highlighting the divergence between China's "stakeholder-oriented" market and the US "shareholder-oriented" one. ESG aligns naturally with China's institutional environment, and blindly applying the US evaluation system can lead to incompatibilities, which presents an opportunity for constructing China's independent knowledge system. He proposed building a "carbon reporting" system for carbon accounting to solve the challenge of coordinated emission reduction. Regarding the slow progress in capitalizing data assets, he suggested improving policy support measures. He emphasized that constructing an independent knowledge system requires grounding it in first principles, utilizing evidence-based research paradigms, integrating multiple research methods, and creating a research system with Chinese characteristics that gains international recognition.

 Lu, Hai

At the forum, Professor Ye Chusheng from Wuhan University presented "The Significance of New Quality Productive Forces for Development Economics," interpreting new quality productive forces from the perspective of development economics. Huang Weiting, Deputy Director of the Decision Consulting Department at the Academy of Macroeconomic Research of the National Development and Reform Commission, delivered a speech titled "Strategically and Proactively Planning for Economic and Social Development during the 15th Five-Year Plan Period: Deeply Studying and Implementing the Spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee." He proposed that constructing China's independent knowledge system should prominently feature "China's independence," closely adhering to advancing theoretical integrity and innovation in the context of Chinese modernization. Professor Xiong Xiong, Associate Dean of the College of Management and Economics at Tianjin University, pointed out in his speech "What Does the Voice Convey: Using a Speech Large Model to Measure Sentiment Mismatch" that the mismatch in emotional expression between text and audio modalities is related to factors such as investor communication duration and company characteristics. This mismatch can lead to short-term declines in stock returns and downward revisions in analyst forecasts, exacerbating information inequality between institutional and retail investors. Professor Ni Hongfu, Executive Dean of the School of Applied Economics at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, noted in his report "Regional Industrial Chain Risk Exposure, Enterprise Stability, and Macroeconomic Fluctuations" that facing the fragility and uncertainty of global industrial chains, "shortening chains" and "localization" have become new production trends. China's industrial chains are currently undergoing deep restructuring, necessitating an accurate understanding of the characteristics of industrial chain risk exposure for each province in both domestic and international circulation, and a deep comprehension of their impact mechanisms on macroeconomic fluctuations.

Part Three: Journal Awards

To promote research on cutting-edge issues in China's economics and management fields and encourage a focus on scientific questions of significant research importance, the Journal of Economic Management organized an annual article selection activity. Through this selection, the journal aims to recognize outstanding author teams, strengthen the dissemination of high-quality academic articles, and enhance the journal's editorial standards. To ensure the fairness, scientific rigor, and authority of the selection process, the Journal of Economic Management invited a panel of professional and authoritative experts with extensive review experience in relevant fields to form the Annual Article Review Expert Group. They comprehensively evaluated articles based on the importance of the topic, the innovativeness of the content, the scientific rigor of the research, and the impact of the article. Ultimately, four award-winning papers were selected from the 38 articles published in 2024 (including two Best Paper awards and two Outstanding Paper awards).

The two articles that received the 2024 Best Paper Awards from the Journal of Economic Management are:

1.Theoretical Exploration and Policy Implications of the Valuation System in China's A-Share Market
Authors: Liu Qiao (Peking University), Li Shangchen (University of Hong Kong), Zhang Zheng (Peking University)

2.Research on the Impact of Algorithmic Decision-Making on Employees' Sense of Fairness
Authors: Jing Yi (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China), Qiu Lingyun (Peking University), Ren Run (Peking University)

The two articles that received the 2024 Outstanding Paper Awards from the Journal of Economic Management are:

1.Has Finance Empowered Technology? An Analysis of Valuation Differences between AI Companies at the Infrastructure and Application Layers
Authors: Zhang Yue (Central University of Finance and Economics), Duan Binglei (Central University of Finance and Economics), Lu Hai (Peking University)

2.Welfare Analysis of Monopoly Platforms' User Acquisition Strategies
Authors: Zhou Zeyu (Peking University), Weng Xi (Peking University), Cheng Xienan (Peking University)

Witnessed by the attending guests, Professor Liu Qiao, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Economic Management, presented the awards to the representatives of the winning author teams.

Part Four: Journal Forum

The Journal Forum was moderated by Professor Wang Tao, Editor-in-Chief of the Luojia Management Review. Representatives and senior editors from over ten academic journals in the economics and management field spoke in turn, including Shen Qiaowei, Professional Director of the Journal of Economic Management; Xiong Xiong, Director of the Editorial Office of the Journal of Management Science in China; Liu Xiaolei, Associate Editor of China Economic Quarterly; Zhang Tong, Senior Editor of Nankai Business Review; Song Zhigang, Senior Editor of The Journal of World Economy; Wu Dengsheng, Associate Editor of Chinese Journal of Management Science; Lin Daomi, Director of the Editorial Office of Journal of Management Research; Wang Tao, Editor-in-Chief, and Lu Xiaojing, Director of the Editorial Office of the Luojia Management Review; Wei Lijia, Director of the Editorial Office of Annals of Economics and Finance; and Peng Shuang, Senior Editor of Economic Review. During the forum, representatives from each journal sequentially introduced their journal's editorial characteristics, manuscript acceptance criteria, review processes, academic influence, and recent research focus areas.

Professor Shen Qiaowei, Professional Director of the Journal of Economic Management, delivered a speech on the journal's mission, positioning, and construction progress. She stated that the Journal of Economic Management is grounded in the principle of "viewing the world from China's perspective and viewing China from a global perspective." It is committed to publishing the latest high-quality academic achievements in the field of economics and management, adhering to mainstream academic norms and scientific, rational research methods. Regarding manuscript selection, the journal emphasizes the practical relevance and theoretical depth of research questions, with particular support for high-quality interdisciplinary research employing new methods and perspectives, thereby contributing to the construction of China's independent knowledge system for economic management.

Part Five: Panel Discussion Sessions

During this third academic forum of the Journal of Economic Management, the journal invited numerous renowned experts and scholars to concurrently hold several thematic panel discussion sessions on the afternoon of December 20th. These sessions focused on cutting-edge issues, facilitating in-depth scholarly exchange.

Panel Discussion Session One focused on the theme of "Macroeconomics under the Lens of New Quality Productive Forces Transition," featuring three presentations including "Taming Systemic Risk with Fiscal Policy: Taxation as a Macroprudential Management Tool." The session was moderated by Zhu Helou, Director of the Editorial Office of the Journal of Economic Management. The discussants were Professor Zhang Tianding (Wuhan University), Professor Li Xun (Wuhan University), and Shen Ji (Peking University). The presenters were Shen Ji (Peking University), Xiao Yuting (Wuhan University), and Zu Chengqi (Wuhan University).

Panel Discussion Session Two addressed the theme of "Climate Change and Sustainable Development," encompassing three presentations such as "How do Carbon Emission Trading Schemes Guide Green Capital Allocation? A Quasi-Natural Experiment Based on the Perspective of Mutual Fund Holdings." The session was moderated by Lu Hai, Co-Director of the Journal of Economic Management. The discussants were Li Shangchen (University of Hong Kong), Huang Qian (Peking University), and Zhang Yue (Central University of Finance and Economics). The presenters were Wang Muwei (Renmin University of China), Wang Yizhi (Shandong University of Finance and Economics), and Huang Qian (Peking University).

Panel Discussion Session Three explored the theme of "Digital Economy and Governance Innovation," including three presentations such as "Empowering Total Factor Productivity of Marine Enterprises through Government Data Opening." The session was moderated by Zhang Yanlong, Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Economic Management. The discussants were Wan Panbing (Wuhan University) and Xu Minghui (Wuhan University). The presenters were Peng Yufei (Wuhan University), Song Jian (Fuyang Normal University), and Liang Xinyu (Wuhan University).

The forum effectively integrates academic and journal resources, injecting new momentum into accelerating the construction of an autonomous knowledge system for economic management with Chinese characteristics. This forum not only gathers diverse academic wisdom to explore major practical issues in the new era and introduces cutting-edge theories and methods, but also builds a high-level academic dialogue platform across regions and disciplines. The "Journal of Economic Management" will always strive to publish high-quality, original, and thought-leading scientific papers, emphasizing the importance and relevance of research issues, and maintaining an open attitude towards various academic research methods and paradigms. It has the advantages of high positioning, strong review, early publication, wide dissemination, and good service. We sincerely invite domestic and foreign experts and scholars to pay attention and submit their papers. In the future, the "Scholar Lecture" online lecture series of the "Journal of Economic Management" will invite editorial board members and authors of the "Journal of Economic Management" to share paper content and research experience, building a platform for high-quality dissemination and exchange of papers.