At the invitation of the University of Rotterdam in Erasmus,the University of Leiden in the Netherlands and the University of Bremen in Germany, Prof. Cheng Xiezhong, Prof. Luo Zhimin, Prof. Zhang Li, Dr. Zhang Dongyang and Dr. Qing Qichen of the School of Law of the China University of Political Science and Law went to Rotterdam, Leiden in the Netherlands and Bremen in Germany for a visit and exchanges from 26th June to 3rd July 2024. Associate Professor Ma Yun of the Institute of Administrative Law, who visited Oxford University, and Associate Professor Lv Mengxing of the School of Civil, Commercial and Economic Law, who carried out academic exchanges in the Netherlands, accompanied the delegation to participate in the Dutch part of the visit. During the visit, the delegation had warm and in-depth academic discussions with professors from the Netherlands and Germany, and reached a consensus on deeper cooperation in the future.

  On 27 June 2024, the delegation came to the Faculty of Law of Erasmus University Rotterdam. In the morning, the delegation had a discussion and exchange with overseas Chinese students, which was attended by dozens of young scholars from Oxford University, Aix-Marseille University, University of Amsterdam, University of Rotterdam, University of Leiden, Maastricht University, University of Rome II, University of Munich and other famous overseas universities. The international scholars consulted on the basic situation of our university, the faculty construction of administrative law discipline and the recruitment of the university, and introduced their study abroad situation and graduation development plan, and also put forward some confusions in their academic research, and the teachers of the delegation responded to them one by one, encouraging the young scholars from overseas to study hard, and to play their own unique roles in the implementation of the strategy of strengthening the country by talents and developing the country by science and education in the new era.

On the afternoon of 27 June, the delegation participated in an academic seminar on the theme of ‘Business Environment and Rule of Law: Sino-Dutch Perspectives’ at the University of Rotterdam in Erasmus, the Netherlands. Co-organised by the Faculty of Law of the University of Rotterdam in Erasmus, the Netherlands and the Faculty of Law of the China University of Political Science and Law, the seminar aimed at exploring the experiences and challenges of China and the Netherlands in the construction of business environment and the rule of law, and to promote the exchanges and cooperation between the two sides in the relevant fields.

The seminar was opened by Prof Luo Zhimin. Assistant Professors Bian Cheng and Li Shu from the Faculty of Law of the University of Rotterdam, Erasmus, the Netherlands, moderated the two keynote modules of the seminar respectively. Professor Michael Faure from the Law School of the University of Rotterdam, Erasmus, the Netherlands, firstly introduced the legislative progress of the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. He elaborated on the background, main content and impact of the Directive on EU enterprises, emphasising the importance of sustainable development and CSR in the modern business environment.

Professor Cheng Xiezhong gave a presentation on the legal value and effectiveness of compliance regulation in China. Through specific cases and data analysis, Prof Cheng demonstrated China's efforts and achievements in promoting corporate compliance and the rule of law. He pointed out that compliance regulation is not only a legal requirement, but also a guarantee for the long-term development of enterprises, and called on China and the Netherlands to strengthen cooperation and exchange in the field of compliance.

Associate Professor Lv Mengxing from the School of Civil and Commercial Law of the China University of Political Science and Law gave a keynote speech detailing the latest development of corporate responsibility in the field of environmental protection in China. Professor Martijn Scheltema from the University of Rotterdam Law School analysed how corporate social responsibility can be achieved through the supply chain, using contractual liability in the corporate supply chain as a starting point.

In the discussion session, Dr Silvia Ciacchi and Dr Dongyang Zhang from the University of Rotterdam discussed issues related to the business environment. Experts and scholars from China and the Netherlands shared their insights and experiences on corporate compliance, legal protection and government regulation.

Towards the end of the seminar, Professor Zhang Li made a concluding speech. He spoke highly of the results of the seminar and thanked all the scholars for their wonderful speeches and active participation. Professor Zhang Li said that China and the Netherlands have a lot in common in terms of business environment and rule of law construction, on the basis of which the two sides can further strengthen academic exchanges and cooperation, and jointly address the legal challenges in the context of globalisation. We look forward to more similar exchange opportunities in the future, which will give new impetus to the research and practice of law in both countries.

On 28th June, the delegation came to Leiden University Law School in the Netherlands to participate in the seminar on ‘Recent Developments in Sino-Dutch Administrative Law’, which was jointly organised by the Leiden University Law School and the School of Law of China University of Political Science and Law. At the beginning of the seminar, Professor Ymre Schuurmans and Professor Luo Zhimin of Institute of Public Law of Leiden University Law School delivered warm speeches respectively. They said that China and the Netherlands have their own specialities in the field of administrative law, and that exchanges and cooperation between the two sides will bring new opportunities and development momentum for the research and practice of law in both countries. Afterwards, Professor Luo Zhimin made a keynote speech on the process and mode of codification of Chinese administrative law. She introduced in detail the historical background, legislative process and future development direction of codification of administrative law in China, and stressed the importance of codification to improve China's rule of law system.Prof. Ymre Schuurmans introduced the development of codification of administrative law in the Netherlands, and introduced the latest progress and practical needs of administrative litigation in the Netherlands at present.

Professor Zhang Li gave a comprehensive introduction to the legislative process, development and evolution of China's Administrative Litigation Law and the formation of its autonomous knowledge system. He gave an in-depth analysis of the development of China's administrative litigation law in terms of its initial legislative intent, system design and implementation effects.

In the second session of the seminar, Associate Professor Ma Yun presented her research findings on how administrative decisions with scientific uncertainty should be reviewed. Starting from case studies in Japan and China, she suggested that a third review path beyond the entity-orientated and procedure-orientated ones should be developed, i.e. process-orientated review. Lecturer Rowie Stolk and Dr Dong Luyao from Leiden University gave keynote speeches on Administrative Public Interest Litigation in the Netherlands and Comparison of Administrative Enforcement Tools between China and the Netherlands respectively.

During the interactive session, the participating scholars asked questions and had in-depth discussions on the challenges of codification of administrative law in China and the practical application of administrative litigation law. The seminar was successfully concluded in a friendly and warm atmosphere. Scholars from both sides agreed that the seminar has deepened mutual understanding, broadened horizons and laid a solid foundation for future cooperation. Both sides expressed that they would carry out more in-depth and diversified cooperation in various aspects, such as conference organisation, international courses and cooperative research, so as to jointly promote the development and progress of Sino-Dutch administrative law.

On 1 July 2024, the delegation and the Faculty of Law of the University of Bremen, Germany, held a Sino-German Symposium on Administrative Law. Professor Katharina Reiling of the Law Faculty of the University of Bremen and Professor Cheng Xiezhong of the Law Faculty of the University of Bremen delivered the opening speech. In the seminar, Dr Zhang Dongyang made a keynote report on the dilemma of reviewing factual findings in automated administration and discussed with scholars, which triggered heated debate among German scholars; Dr Qing Qichen made a rich and detailed report on the ‘main body's responsibility’ borne by China's digital platforms; and Dr Katharina Reiling and Prof Pia Lange made a report on German administrative law related issues. Prof. Katharina Reiling and Prof. Pia Lange responded to the issues related to German administrative law. During the nearly three-hour seminar, the scholars also discussed the latest development of theories such as margin of appreciation in German administrative law. At the end of the academic discussion, the two sides also reached a consensus on the development of international courses and the organisation of international conferences.

On 3 July, the delegation returned to Beijing. The series of international symposiums conducted this time is a further expansion of the Institute of Administrative Law on the basis of the previous international exchanges, which not only carried out in-depth discussions on the theoretical and practical issues of administrative law that are of common concern to various countries, but also achieved fruitful results in strengthening the cultivation of foreign rule of law talents and talents, and promoting international exchanges and cooperation.