April 19, 2025, Chengdu - The 2025 SWUFE–SUFE Bilateral Forum on Public Finance and Taxation wrapped up after a full day of spirited debate and fresh data insights. Jointly hosted by the School of Public Finance and Taxation at SWUFE (Southwestern University of Finance and Economics) and the School of Public Economics and Management at SUFE (Shanghai University of Finance and Economics), this marked the seventh annual in-depth exchange between two of China’s leading fiscal research hubs.

Throughout the day, deans, professors, and PhD students from both institutions exchanged state-of-the-art research, compared curriculum design notes, and looked at innovative approaches to co-train the upcoming generation of public finance academics.

“SWUFE and SUFE have been engaging in academic exchanges for years—today we turned these exchanges into a concrete mission,” Li Jianjun, Dean of SWUFE’s School of Public Finance and Taxation, told the room in his opener. “Think of this forum as a real-time sandbox for cross-campus chemistry, not a photo-op handshake.”

Fan Ziying, Dean of SUFE’s School of Public Economics and Management, quickly picked up the baton, branding the two schools “natural team-mates” whose overlapping DNA makes joint projects “low-friction, high-yield.” Fan pressed for institutionalized student exchange programs, joint supervision mechanisms and open-data commitments so that “every speaker today becomes a co-author tomorrow.

The organisers agreed to alternate hosting duties annually and to launch a joint working-paper series next semester. The 2026 edition will be held in Shanghai.