News
China’s BRI Geopolitical Maritime Investments in the European Union’s Shipping Industry, European Union’s Reaction and Implications for South-South Relations
China is purchasing stakes in strategic ports across the European Union with varying dynamics observable in each deal including its latest purchase at Germany’s Hamburg harbor. China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) which is one of the world’s largest shipping companies has also purchased shares in sea ports in: Belgium, Spain, Italy, Netherlands and Greece. These maritime investments are in line with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s 2013 proposition to invest in a 21st century Maritime Silk Road which is a part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Podcast: Not just China: Regional Actors and the BRI in Pakistan, Georgia and Hungary
In the ten years since its conception, China’s Belt and Road Initiative has morphed into a trillion dollar global infrastructure enterprise. The attention it has been receiving is frequently mixed with suspicion about China’s presence on the global stage. However, any BRI project involves multiple actors beyond China and interacts with pre-existing infrastructure and conditions.
Localizing Confucius Institutes Through African Languages: The Confucius Institute in Dar es Salaam
Two Confucius Institutes exist in Tanzania. Their construction was financed by China and they are hosted by the University of Dar es Salaam and the University of Dodoma. The Tanzanian Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), Prof. Dr. Aldin Mutembei is a Fellow of our De:Link // Re:Link research project. Prof. Mutembei gave a very insightful public lecture at the Institute for Asian and African Studies here at the Humboldt University zu Berlin.
Talk: The Power of Transcultural Politics Along China’s BRI
On June 15, 2023 Jamila Adeli and Linda Ammann gave a presentation at the University of Vienna. Under the title “The power of transcultural politics along China’s Belt and Road Initiative: The promise of culture in Sino-African relations” we introduced a decidedly (trans)cultural perspective on the BRI and its reciprocal relations in so-called new silk
Pakistan-China BRI-CPEC Relations: The Impact and Challenges of Electricity Production, Transmission and Distribution in Pakistan for Chinese Companies
Pakistan desperately needed investments in its energy sector because constant electricity blackouts and load shedding were gradually crippling its economy. The 2015 launch of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) brought hope to 236 million Pakistanis who make up the world’s fifth largest nation by population. Chinese companies increased electricity production through many new power production projects.
Podium Discussion: China Connecting People? A Transregional Inquiry into Infrastructural Dis/connections in Africa and Eurasia
Belts, roads and initiatives – in plural – are being forged through China’s global infrastructural engagement. Countless ports, highways and railways are constructed, reconstructed and rehabilitated for connecting people in Asia with Africa and Europe for seamless trade and economic development. In this transregional roundtable, we bring these aspirations down to earth. We trace emerging