China's social credit system (SCS) is a system supported by artificial intelligence that aims to improve moral behavior, financial reliability and social control. It is one of the most significant examples of radical digital innovation and the largest attempt to use social engineering. Its impact extends beyond China, as it affects foreign companies and individuals operating in China - including those from Germany and Bavaria. Against this background, this interdisciplinary project examines the opportunities and risks arising from China's digital transformation (through its SCS) and the impact it has on Germany and the Bavarian government, its companies and society. In doing so, we draw on the team's expertise regarding the technical structure of the SCS from an IT perspective, the cooperation and competition between Chinese and foreign companies from an economic perspective, and the effects of the SCS on global governance and diffusion processes from a political science perspective.

Project participants:

• Prof. Dr. Eugénia da Conceição-Heldt, Technical University of Munich, Chair of European and Global Governance, Hochschule für Politik München
• Prof. Dr. Doris Fischer, China Business and Economics, University of Würzburg
• Prof. Dr. Jens Großklags, Technical University of Munich, Chair for Cyber Trust

sponsored by: Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt).