The Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in collaboration with the Regional Studies Association (RSA), successfully held The Regional Studies Association Global Conference 2012 on June 24-26th, 2012 at the China National Convention Center, Beijing. The theme of the conference is 'Sustaining Regional Future'. This is the first RSA global conference ever held outside Europe. Prof.LIU Yi, Director General of the IGSNRR and Prof. Andrew Beer, Academician of the UK's Academy of Social Science, co-chaired the organizing committee of this conference, and Prof. LIU Weidong served as secretary of the committee. The conference was co-sponsored by the CAS’s Bureau of International Cooperation, IGSNRR and the CAS Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling as well as the Center for Urban Development and Land Policies of the Peking University-Lincoln Institute.

More than 200 scholars from 37 countries and regions joined the conference, including UK, China, USA, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Poland, Mexico, etc. Seven internationally noted scholars were invited to give plenary speeches: Dr. Elkin Velasquez (Coordinator of Safer Cities Programme/Urban Development Branch, UN-Habitat), Prof. Graham Meadows (former DG of Regional Policy, European Commission), Prof. Mick Dunford (University of Sussex), Prof. Jessie Poon (University at Buffalo-SUNY), Prof. Keni Yamamoto (Kyushu University), George C.S. Lin (University of Hong Kong), and Prof. LIU Weidong (IGSNRR, CAS).

A number of honorary guests joined the opening ceremony, including Prof. LU Dadao, Academician of CAS, Mr. LIU Sushe, Deputy Director General of the Department of Regional Economy, National Development and Reform Commission, Prof. FENG Renguo, Deputy Director General of the Bureau of Resources and Environmental Sciences of CAS, Prof. ZHOU Chenghu, Deputy Director General of IGSNRR, Prof. LENG Shuying, Director of the Geography Division, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Prof. David Bailey, Chair of RSA, and Ms. Sally Hardy, Chief Executive of RSA.

The gateway themes of the conference included ‘Environmental sustainability’, ’Migration and labour markets’, ’Social justice and civil society’, ’Rural challenges’, ’Territorial politics and policy’, ’City-regions and urban transformations’, ’Spatial econometrics’, ’Borders, border regions and periphery’, ’Industries, entrepreneurship, and regional competitiveness’, ’Innovation and knowledge economies’, ’Creativity, identities, and branding’, ’Tourism and regional development’, ’Spatial planning and practice’, ’Banking, finance and financialization’, and ’Housing and Regions’. Conference participants visited IGSNRR and enjoyed a reception hosted by IGSNRR in the evening of June 25th, 2012. After the visit, many participants expressed their strong interest in future collaborations with IGSNRR.

The Regional Studies Association

The Regional Studies Association, headquartered in Seaford, UK, is a learned society concerned with the analysis of regional and sub national development issues. It organizes frequent events and conferences, and publishes a number of journals, including the Regional Studies and Spatial Economic Analysis.