當前關於中國政治經濟現象的探索

The Current State of the Study of Chinese Political Economy

中國研究（China Studies）是否還能繼續作？該如何作？在過去幾年間，無論是透過研討會、工作坊、電子報、專刊、專書等管道，這兩個問題已在社會科學界激起熱烈的討論。想當然爾，不同研究者根據自身的研究專長、專業訓練、所在區域、職業期待等因素，論點呈現光譜式分布。光譜的兩端是積極重返研究現場與轉換研究對象遠離中國研究，更多的研究者是透過不同於過往的研究策略因應當前的變化。而這又與研究者如何認知導致變化的深層因素有關。以中美競爭為主軸的地緣政治、中國國內政治環境以及全球新冠疫情是三大主要因素。研究者針對前述三個因素的評估決定了自身研究策略的調整。本文認為中國研究領域的研究者並不是第一次遇到研究現場進入障礙，以政治經濟學研究來說，仍有許多可靠的資料能夠協助研究者判斷趨勢、進行推論。相較於研究現場進入障礙，更為挑戰的其實是以西方知識體系建構的中國研究如今面臨著來自中國本土的競爭。源自中國本土的知識體系如何影響研究者對中國政治經濟現象的解讀仍有待觀察。不過可以肯定的是，雙元知識體系對於中國研究者在知識的探索上或將帶來前所未有的考驗。

Can China Studies Still Be Conducted? If So, How? These two questions have sparked vibrant discussions within the social sciences over the past few years, through conferences, workshops, newsletters, special issues, and monographs. Understandably, researchers—shaped by their areas of expertise, academic training, geographical location, and professional expectations—offer a wide spectrum of responses. At one end of the spectrum are those actively seeking to return to the field; at the other are those shifting away from China as a research focus. Most scholars, however, are responding to current changes with strategies different from those they employed in the past.
These responses are closely tied to how researchers interpret the underlying forces driving the changes. Three major factors are frequently cited: the geopolitical rivalry between China and the United States, China’s domestic political environment, and the global COVID-19 pandemic. How scholars assess these three forces has shaped their decisions to adjust research strategies accordingly.
This article argues that researchers in the field of China Studies are not encountering obstacles to fieldwork access for the first time. In the realm of political economy research, for instance, many reliable sources remain available to help scholars identify trends and make inferences. In fact, the more formidable challenge may lie not in access restrictions, but in the emerging competition between China Studies as constructed through Western epistemologies and knowledge systems originating from within China itself.
How locally rooted Chinese epistemologies will influence scholars’interpretations of China's political and economic phenomena remains to be seen. What is certain, however, is that the coexistence of dual epistemic systems will pose unprecedented challenges for China Studies scholars in their pursuit of knowledge.