“Italy and Greece: Two Case Studies for Chinese Involvement in Southern Europe” Assessing China’s Belt and Road Initiative webinar series (April 16, 2021)
The Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University is hosting a virtual conference series titled “Assessing China’s Belt and Road Initiative” to examine the economic, social, political, and security impacts of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
For the full series poster with live links to speaker biographies and suggested readings, and to register for each event, click here BRI Spring 2021 Presentation Series poster 1.19.21a
The BRI, announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in the fall of 2013, attempts to reshape the world in the image of the ancient Silk Roads with China as the central player. As a combination of a land-based Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) and a sea-based 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR), China’s multi-trillion-dollar BRI program is having impacts in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America.
Since the BRI cuts across regions and topics, all seven of the Pardee School’s regional and thematic centers are sponsoring events related to their particular focus, including book launches, talks, and interviews.
The series is organized and edited by Dr. Grant Rhode, an affiliated scholar of the Boston University Center for the Study of Asia, in collaboration with each of the Pardee School’s affiliate centers.
To register for the various events, click on the individual event titles below, or on the BRI Spring 2021 Presentation Series poster 3.8.21a.
Friday Talk Series: Spring Semester, 2021, moderated by Grant Rhode.
ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS: “BRI Economic Benefits and Risks”
Speaker: Kevin Gallagher; Discussant: William Grimes
Host: Global Development Policy Center
Friday, February 5, 2021, 9-10 a.m. EST
Economic Implications recommended reading, BU GDP Center links to BRI
STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS: “US-China Strategic Competition and the BRI”
Speaker: Min Ye; Discussant: Joshua Shifrinson
Co-hosts: Center for Study of Asia, Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future
Friday, February 19, 2021, 9-10 a.m. EST
Strategic Implications recommended reading , Ye, pp. 1-23
LATIN AMERICA: “Is China’s New Silk Road Lending a Helping Hand in Latin America’s Current Crisis?”
Speaker: Jorge Heine; Discussant: Kevin Gallagher
Co-hosts: Center for Latin American Studies, Global Development Policy Center
Friday, March 5, 2021, 9-10 a.m. EST
Latin America recommended reading, Heine
SOUTHEAST ASIA: “Rivers of Iron: Railroads and Chinese Power in Southeast Asia”
Speaker: David M. Lampton; Discussant: Joseph Fewsmith
Co-Hosts: Center for the Study of Asia, Global Development Policy Center
Friday, March 12, 2021, 9-10 a.m. EST
Southeast Asia recommended reading, Lampton, chapter 1
NORTHEAST ASIA: “BRI Lessons from Japan: From Flying Geese to Partnership for Quality Infrastructure”
Speaker: William Grimes; Discussant: Bart Édes
Host: Center for the Study of Asia
Friday, March 19, 2021, 9-10 a.m. EDT
Northeast Asia recommended reading, Grimes
Northeast Asia second reading, Édes
AFRICA: “African Debt Relief with Chinese Characteristics”
Speakers: Deborah Brautigam, Kevin Acker; Discussant: Yan Wang
Co-hosts: African Studies Center, Global Development Policy Center
Friday, April 2, 2021, 9-10 a.m. EDT
Africa recommended reading, Brautigam, Acker, and Huang
Africa second reading, Gallagher, Wang
EUROPE: “Italy and Greece: Two Case Studies for Chinese Involvement in Southern Europe”
Speaker: Philippe Le Corre; Discussants: Vesko Garcevic, Dimitrios Skiadas
Host: Center for the Study of Europe
Friday, April 16, 2021, 9-10 a.m. EDT
Europe recommended reading, Le Corre
Europe second reading, Le Corre
Following is a list of the videos recorded to date in this series. To see a video, click on one of the following links, or scroll down to select a video accompanied by an event description. The Pardee School will add new videos to this page as related events take place.
Event Videos, most recent at top of list
- Kent Calder on Super Continent: The Logic of Eurasian Integration (event date December 4, 2020) – Video will be available soon
During this event – hosted by the Center for the Study of Asia on Dec 4, 2020 – Kent Calder, Reischauer Professor of East Asian Studies at Johns Hopkins University SAIS, discussed his book Super Continent: The Logic of Eurasian Integration highlighting the BRI within the context of other trends toward Eurasian integration. Discussant: Min Ye; Moderator: William Grimes
During this event – hosted by the Center for the Study of Europe on Oct 13, 2020 – Jonathan Hillman, Senior Fellow and Director of the Reconnecting Asia program at CSIS, presented his new book, The Emperor’s New Road: China and the Project of the Century, and highlighted Europe in China’s Belt and Road, impacts on the ground, and the road ahead. Discussants: Philippe Le Corre and Min Ye.
During this event – hosted by the Center for the Study of Asia on August 12, 2020 – Min Ye, Associate Professor of International Relations at the Pardee School, presented her new book, The Belt, Road and Beyond: State-Mobilized Globalization in China 1998-2018, which highlights historic precedents and the Chinese domestic foundation of the BRI. Interview by Grant Rhode.