AI Regulation and Digital Markets: Guest Lectures in China

Prof. Dr. Max Baumgart speaking at Nanjing University at the Third Innovation and Regulation Forum, September 2026.

Prof. Dr. Max Baumgart, Chair of Energy Law and Blockchain, travelled to China in early September 2026 at the invitation of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. At Nanjing University, he spoke on Artificial Intelligence Regulation in Europe at the Third Innovation and Regulation Forum, jointly hosted by the university’s Law School, its Institute of Economic Law and the KAS office in Shanghai. The forum brought together researchers from China, Australia and Europe.

In his talk, he compared the EU AI Act, a risk-based product safety regulation that directly binds private actors, with the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention on AI, which binds only ratifying states. Using Switzerland as an example, he showed how AI standards can be introduced through sectoral rules rather than horizontal regulation.

At Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, hosted by Prof. Dr. WU Peicheng, discussions focused on the differing Chinese and European approaches to AI, as well as the university’s mandatory AI course for all first-year students. At Alibaba Group’s headquarters, Prof. Baumgart addressed the legal team and General Counsel on “EU Law Perspectives on Digital Markets”, covering EU competition law, the Digital Markets Act, the Digital Services Act and the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, illustrated by landmark cases such as Google Shopping and Booking.com.

The trip highlights the value of close academic exchange between Europe and China, as both face the same major challenges posed by artificial intelligence.