Michael Rochlitz was invited to participate in the International conference on Federalism, State and Society that was organized by the the Islamia University of Bahawalpur in Pakistan on March 25, 2021. Michael presented his joint book with Prof. Dr. Alexander Libman (FU Berlin) "Federalism in China and Russia: Story of Success and Story of Failure?" at the online keynote panel of the conference.

The book, published in 2019 by Edward Elgar, discusses what effect a federal system has on economic development and whether differences in the Russian and Chinese federal systems can explain better economic performance of China.