Programme
7th Workshop on EU-China Relations in Global Politics
“European and Asian Perspectives on China’s Belt & Road Initiative”
Astana, Kazakhstan
24-26 April 2018
DAY I – TUE, 24 April 2017 – Nazarbayev University Astana
08.00 Departure at Marriott Hotel, bus transfer to Nazarbayev University
All participants staying in Kazakhstan longer than 5 days please bring your passport to the Workshop to complete the immigration procedure.
08.30 Registration
09.00 Welcoming remarks
- Thomas HELM, KAS Country Representative Kazakhstan, Astana / Kazakhstan.
- Dr. Peter HEFELE, KAS Regional Project Energy Security and Climate Change Asia-Pacific (RECAP), Hongkong SAR / PR China.
09.20 Introduction to the topic and method
- Maximilian RECH, UACES EU-China CRN and ESSCA School of Management, Shanghai.
09.30 Session 1.1 – China’s BRI and the evolving global order: In search for theoretical and analytical macro-level approaches
- Chair > Dr. Frauke AUSTERMANN, UACES EU-China CRN and ESSCA EU-Asia Institute.
- Presenter 1 (10 min) > Dr. Duncan FREEMAN, EU-China Research Centre, College of Europe. The Belt and Road and Over-Capacity: Trade, Investment, Infrastructure and the Road to (Re)Industrialisation.
- Presenter 2 (10 min) > H.E. Dr. Wolfgang ROEHR, Senior Research Fellow, German Studies Center, Tongji University, Shanghai. All roads lead to Beijing? The BRI as a set of bilateral agreements or a network of equals.
- Presenter 3 (10 min) > Dr. Moritz PIEPER, University of Salford, Manchester, UK. The Belt and Road Initiative and Sino-Russian Order Conceptions in a Post-American World.
Questions & Answers
Session 1.2 – Central Asian, Middle Eastern, South Asian and Southeast Asian perspectives on the BRI at the regional, national and subnational level
- Chair > Anastas VANGELI, UACES EU-China CRN and Graduate School for Social Research, Polish Academy of Sciences.
- Presenter 4 (10 min) > Dr. Amitabh SINGH, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. India and the Belt and Road Initiative: No, Yes, Maybe!
- Presenter 5 (10 min) > Dr. Fabienne BOSSUYT, Ghent University. The EU’s and China’s development assistance towards Central Asia: Low versus contested impact.
- Presenter 6 (10 min) > Dr. SONG Lilei, School of Political Science and International Relations at Tongji University. The advancing of EU-Japan strategic relations and its impact on China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Questions & Answers
10.45 Coffee Break
11.00 Session 2.1 – China’s BRI and the evolving global order: In search for theoretical and analytical macro-level approaches
- Chair > Dr. Duncan FREEMAN, UACES EU-China CRN and College of Europe, Bruges.
- Presenter 7 (10 min) > Dr. Anastasiya BAYOK, Graduate School of East Asian Studies at Free University Berlin. Perceiving and being perceived: BRI and the change of regional and international order.
- Presenter 8 (10 min) > Dr. Jeremy GARLICK, University of Economics Prague. An Innovative Approach to Theorizing China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Complex Eclecticism.
- Presenter 9 (10 min) > Dr. Marton KRASZNAI, Center for Central Asia Research of Budapest Corvinus University. Analysis of Implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative in Central Asia: Opportunities and Challenges for the European Union.
- Presenter 14 (10 min) > Dr. Dominik MIERZEJEWSKI, University of Lodz, Center for Asian Affairs. The role of sub-national actors in Belt and Road Initiative.
Questions & Answers
Session 2.2 – Central Asian, Middle Eastern, South Asian and Southeast Asian perspectives on the BRI at the regional, national and subnational level
- Chair > Dr. Richard TURCSANYI, Mendel University in Brno.
- Presenter 10 (10 min) > Dr. Tony Tai-Ting LIU, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, University of Tokyo. Racing to Africa and Beyond? Japan’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and Its Implications for the Belt and Road Initiative.
- Presenter 11 (10 min) > Dr. Jagannath Prasad PANDA, Research Fellow & Centre Head, East Asia, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi, India. Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC): An India-Japan Indo-Pacific Response to China’s BRI?
- Presenter 12 (10 min) > Dr. Kamalbek KARYMSHAKOV, Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas Univesity. Determinants of International Labour Migration in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan: From the Current Gravity to Perspectives of Regional Economic Integration.
- Presenter 13 (10 min) > Albina MURATBEKOVA, Institute of Oriental Studies, Almaty. Seizing the BRI: Central Asian view of challenges in South Asia.
Questions & Answers
12.30 Lunch
14.00 Session 3.1 – BRI and China-Europe relations – on the regional, national and subnational level
- Chair > Dr. Peter HEFELE, KAS RECAP.
- Presenter 15 (10 min) > Prof. Richard GRIFFITHS, Leiden University. The Missing Western End of the New Silk Road.
- Presenter 16 (10 min) > Prof. May TAN-MULLINS, Nottingham Ningbo University. Ningbo ‘s Position and International Advantages in the Belt and Road Initiative.
- Presenter 17 (10 min) > MA Junchi, Institute of European Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The differences and paradoxes between China and Europe in the OBOR.
- Presenter 18 (10 min) > Dr. Miguel OTERO-IGLESIAS, Elcano Royal Institute, Madrid; ESSCA. Clash of cultures or normative convergence in Sino-European understandings of development: the case of the AIIB.
Questions & Answers
Session 3.2 – People-to-People Cooperation and societal repercussions along the BRI
- Chair > Frank TSAI, Control Risks.
- Presenter 19 (10 min) > Dr. Frauke AUSTERMANN, UACES EU-China CRN and ESSCA EU-Asia Institute. Women and the New Silk Road.
- Presenter 20 (10 min) > Dr. Simon LAND, Nazarbayev University. Perceptions amongst different strata of Kazakhstan in relation to the OBOR.
- Presenter 21 (10 min) > David MERKLE, Academic Council on Culture and Foreign Policy – WIKA (Research Initiative). Can a shared past lay solid ground for a joint future? The Belt and Road Initiative and opportunities for cultural and public exchanges between Europe and Asia.
- Presenter 22 (10 min) > Meena BILGI, Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resources Management (WOCAN). China’s One Belt and One Road Initiative – Why Gender Matters!
Questions & Answers
15.30 Coffee Break
16.00 Session 4.1 – BRI and China-Europe relations – on the regional, national and subnational level
- Chair > Dr. Miguel OTERO-IGLESIAS, Elcano Royal Institute, Madrid.
- Presenter 23 (10 min) > Xavier NUTTIN, European Institute for Asian Studies (EIAS). Will the Belt and Road Initiative bring the EU and China closer?
- Presenter 24 (10 min) > Dr. Richard TURCSANYI, Mendel University in Brno. The Drivers and Achievements of the Belt and Road Initiative: A look in Selected EU Countries.
- Presenter 25 (10 min) > Dr. Ikboljon QORABOYEV, Higher School of Economics of Kazguu University, Astana. EU-China relations and evolving global order: Challenges for building a narrative around the BRI.
- Presenter 26 (10 min) > Patrycja PENDRAKOWSKA, Poland Asia Research Centre / University of Warsaw. “Community of common destiny” in relation to BRI and 16+1.
Questions & Answers
Session 4.2 – Meta-level analyses: Case studies and micro-level analysis on particular projects of the BRI
- Chair > Dr. Ali CHESHMEZHANGI, University of Nottingham, Ningbo.
- Presenter 27 (10 min) > Dr. Tomasz KAMINSKI, Faculty of International and Political Studies, University of Lodz. What are the factors behind the successful EU-China cooperation on sub-national level? A case study of Lodzkie region in Poland.
- Presenter 28 (10 min) > Dr. Bartosz KOWALSKI, Department of East Asian Studies/Centre for Asian Affairs, University of Lodz. Chinese multilateralism in the developing world: a comparative analysis of “16+1” and FOCAC formats.
- Presenter 29 (10 min) > Dr. Ivica BAKOTA, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China. SEE region in a new Chinese political geography.
- Presenter 30 (10 min) > Dr. Marcin GRABOWSKI, Jagiellonian University in Krakow. Chinese Belt and Road Initiative from Central European Perspectives – Rhetoric versus Reality.
Questions & Answers
18.00 Departure at Nazarbayev University, bus transfer to Marriott Hotel
19.00 Dinner
Venue: Marriott Hotel
DAY II – WED, 25 April 2017
09.00 Wrap-up of Day I
- Anastas VANGELI, UACES EU-China CRN and Doctoral Researcher, Graduate School for Social Research, Polish Academy of Sciences.
09.20 Session 5.1 – Climate change, sustainability and energy security of a ‘green’ BRI
- Chair > MA Junchi, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
- Presenter 31 (10 min) > Dr. Ali CHESHMEHZANGI & XIE Linjun, The University of Nottingham Ningbo China. Pioneering a Green BRI Alignment between China and other members.
- Presenter 32 (10 min) > Philipp Roland GERES, Independent Researcher. Can the “Belt and Road Initiative” lead to sustainable, climate-friendly development in Eurasia? An assessment of current trends, challenges and opportunities.
- Presenter 33 (10 min) > Odilov PARVIZ, Yonsei University. Stability versus Flexibility: Reconciling international environmental laws and policies with international investment law towards sustainable development – The case of Tajikistan.
Questions & Answers
Session 5.2 – Meta-level analyses: Case studies on cooperation and competition in Central Asia
- Chair > Dr. Marcin GRABOWSKI, Jagiellonian University, Krakow.
- Presenter 34 (10 min) > Dr. Nikola ZIVLAK and Ms. Zarina MARENOVA, Donghua University. State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and Belt and Road Initiative – Social Enterprise Corporation in Kazakhstan.
- Presenter 35 (10 min) > Dr. Andrei RADULESCU, Banca Transilvania & Institute for World Economy at the Romanian Academy. Estimating the impact of BRI on the potential output in China and Silk Road Economic Belt.
- Presenter 36 (10 min) > Justin TOMCZYK, Russian-Armenian Slavonic University / University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Road Less-Traveled: the Role of Tran-Caspian Infrastructure in the Belt and Road Initiative.
Questions & Answers
10.30 Coffee Break
10.45 Session 6.1 – Climate change, sustainability and energy security of a ‘green’ BRI
- Chair > Prof. May TAN MULLINS, Nottingham Ningbo University.
- Presenter 37 (10 min) > Dr. YU Kaho, Harvard Kennedy School & Chinese University of Hong Kong. Energy security and sustainability in the Belt and Road Initiative: A case study on Chinese renewable energy investment in Central Asia.
- Presenter 38 (10 min) > Evangjelia SALI, Fudan University. China’s energy security in the era of the BRI and the role of the NOCs.
- Presenter 39 (10 min) > Oyuna BALDAKOVA, Freie University Berlin. Greening Belt and Road: Emerging Regulatory Framework for China’s Sustainable Overseas Investments.
Questions & Answers
Session 6.2 – Rules and regulation of innovation, technology and digitisation in the context of the BRI
- Chair > Maximilian Rech, UACES EU-China CRN and ESSCA School of Management, Shanghai.
- Presenter 40 (10 min) > Dr. Giorgio CARIDI, LUMSA University. Innovation and digitization of communication: how to skyrocket the BRI in Europe.
- Presenter 41 (10 min) > Una Aleksandra BERZINA-CERENKOVA, Riga Stradins University, Latvian Institute of International Affairs. Applied commercial digital connectivity along the Belt and Road.
Questions & Answers
12.30 Lunch
13.00 Wrap-up session
Chair: Dr. Frauke AUSTERMANN, UACES EU-China CRN and Associate Researcher at the ESSCA EU-Asia Institute
- Anastas VANGELI, UACES EU-China CRN and Graduate School for Social Research, Polish Academy of Sciences. China’s BRI and the evolving global order: In search for theoretical and analytical macro-level approaches
- Dr. Richard TURCSANYI, Mendel University in Brno. Central Asian, Middle Eastern, South Asian and Southeast Asian perspectives on the BRI at the regional, national and subnational level
- Prof. Richard GRIFFITHS, Leiden University.BRI and China-Europe relations – on the regional, national and subnational level.
- Patrycija PENDRAKOWSKA, Poland Asia Research Center. Meta-level analyses: Case studies and micro-level analysis on particular projects of the BRI.
- Dr. Marcin GRABOWSKI, Jagiellonian University in Krakow. Meta-level analyses: Case studies on cooperation and competition in Central Asia & beyond.
- Dr. Ali CHESHMEHZANGI, University of Nottingham, Ningbo. Climate change, sustainability and energy security of a ‘green’ BRI.
- Dr. Frank TSAI, Control Risks. People-to-People Cooperation and societal repercussions along the BRI.
15.00 Bus Transfer from Nazarbayev University to the centre of Astana > Visit of Astana
18.00 Dinner
DAY III – THU, 26 April 2017
09.00 Venue
Hotel Marriott, 2 Dostyq Street, Astana 010016, Kazakhstan
09.30 Registration
10.00 Opening of the Young Leaders Forum
Welcoming remarks
- H.E. Rolf MAFAEL, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Republic of Kazakhstan.*
- N.N., Representative of Kazakhstan.
- Maximilian Rech, UACES EU-China CRN and ESSCA School of Management, Shanghai.
10.20 Keynote
- N. (Kazakhstan)
10.40 Presentation of the main results of the conference
- Dr. Frauke AUSTERMANN, UACES EU-China CRN and Associate Researcher at the ESSCA EU-Asia Institute
11.00 Panel discussion / Chair: Dr Peter Hefele, KAS RECAP
- N. (politics)
- Konstantin YELISEYEV, Partner, Eurasia Deals Leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers Tax & Advisory LLP*
- Prof. May TAN-MULLINS, Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning and Director of Institute of Asia and Pacific Studies (IAPS), The University of Nottingham Ningbo China.
- Dr. Duncan FREEMAN, UACES EU-China CRN and Research Fellow, EU-China Research Centre, College of Europe.
- Dr. Miguel OTERO-IGLESIAS, Senior Analyst, Elcano Royal Institute, Madrid and Research Associate at the EU-Asia Institute at ESSCA School of Management.