BICCS is glad to announce you its spring lecture series on China’s foreign policy, organized in cooperation with the Brussels Regional Government, Kent University and the Institute of European Studies.
China is presenting its ascent not as a power shift, but as a paradigm shift. It claims that its rise will be different from other powers in the past. Instead of tragic rivalry for hegemony, China expects to contribute to multilateral cooperation and to develop strategic relationships that also allow its partners to gain. This lecture series examines if such a paradigm shift has indeed occurred in the China’s main strategic partnerships and discusses whether China will really redefine the nature of great power politics.

The lectures will be organized on Monday between 15h00 and 17h00 at the premises of BICCS. Participants should register three days prior to each lecture by sending an email to biccs@vub.ac.be, mentioning their organization and function. The number of participants is limited to sixty. If you unexpectedly have to cancel your registration, please let us know.

These are the scheduled lectures:

22 February: Christopher Hughes, LSE, on power transition in Asia
1 March: Sun Xuefeng, Tsinghua University, on China’s strategic thinking
8 March: Chen Zhimin, Fudan University on the meaning of strategic partnerships
16 March: Ian Taylor, University of St-Andrews, on China and the South
22 March: Niklas Swanstrom, ISDP, on the Sino-Russia relations
29 March: Jin Canrong, Renmin University, on the China-America strategic axis
19 April: Thomas Christensen, Princeton University, on the military balance in Asia (tbc)
26 April: Shen Dingli, Fudan University, on great power rivalry in Northeast Asia
3 May: Feng Zhongping, CICIR, on the relations between China and the EU
10 May: Harsh Pant, King’s College, on the China-India-Pakistan triangle
17 May: Andrew Nathan, Columbia University, on China’s role in great power politics

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