With their specific temporal focus on the Qing Dynasty to present-day China, professors and research associates in Chinese Studies at Tübingen University conduct a substantial number of research projects, primarily with third-party funding.

The fruits of this research are integrated into the course offerings, which are continuously updated to reflect the current status of China research at the international level. Research activities are moreover interdisciplinary, embedded in cooperative efforts with the departments and sections of the Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies (AOI) as well as with other institutes and departments at Tübingen University, including Economics, Political Science, Sociology, Historical Economics, Geography and Comparative Literature.

The main research areas of the section of Chinese Studies in Tuebingen concentrate on both traditional and modern, or present-day, China and Greater China. Broader focal points cover

• Economic and social history of the late Qing Period
• History of natural sciences and technology
• History of Chinese ideas of the 19th and 20th century from a global perspective
• Historiography
• Religious history
• Philosophy and the history of philosophy
• History of medicine and China's role in Global Health
• Museums and practice of exhibitions
• Modern and contemporary Chinese Literature (1900–today)
• Political and social developments in Greater China (PR China, Taiwan, Hong Kong)
• Political relations between China and Europe
• East Asian conflict and regional integration

Detailed information on current research projects as well as published results and projects can be obtained from the websites of the section chairs Huang and Schubert, the professorship Mittag and the pages of the section’s research associates.