On June 8-9, 2009, the “International Symposium on Migration and Labour Market: China and UK” was held on Bejing, hosted by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Economic and Social Research Council, and co-organized by CASS Institute of Population and Labour Economics and Population Change Research Centre of St Andrews University. There were 16 British scholars from Southampton University, St Andrews University, Nottingham University, London University, Oxford University, Leeds University, Heriot Watt University, and around one hundred Chinese scholars and experts from CASS, Peking University, Renmin University of China, Beijing Normal University, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Central University of Finance and Economics, South China Normal University, National Economic Research Institute, National Development and Reform Committee, National Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Human Resource and Social Security, Ministry of Agriculture, ACFTU, and so on. And over 30 British and Chinese scholars presented on the conference.

Wang Lei, Director of Bureaus of International Cooperation, CASS, Cai Fang, Director of Institute of Population and Labour Economics, CASS, and Jane Falkingham, Director of Population Change Research Centre, St Andrews University, made the opening speech. Chris Godwin, Director of Representative Office in China, Research Council UK gave the presentation of “The Functions of RCUK in China”.

The conference topics focused on labour migration, labour market and income difference, migration and wage and labour microeconomic behaviours, migration and labour market segmentation, migration and graduate employment, cross-border migration and employment, the social economic characteristics of peasant workers, and so on. Participants from China and UK shared their new research results, research methods, and academic opinions, talked about deepening labour force survey data and statistic data, and discussed about theorizing and regulation making based on the new empirical researches.