18 May 2026
13:00 - 14:30 Europe/Oslo
Event
Chinese infrastructure power in a changing global landscape and its alternatives
This seminar draws on five years of research to examine China's Belt and Road Initiative and its alternatives, from Europe and Latin America to Southeast Asia and the MENA region.
Language: English
NUPI, Rosenkrantz' gate 22, OSLO
Seminar
China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is said to be aimed at generating both economic gains, but also political ones – tying recipients of Chinese investments closer to Beijing. But does investing in infrastructure projects generate increased political influence?
This seminar brings together insights from a five-year research project that has examined the political and social impacts of infrastructure projects. The project has considered not only the BRI but also alternative infrastructure programs from the US, Japan, G7 and EU. It has aimed to develop a more nuanced understanding of global infrastructure initiatives and how infrastructure providing states wield power globally, and to identify the factors that strengthen or undermine such initiatives.
Through a comparative lens, we will explore how global initiatives on infrastructure have developed over the past decade and specifically the impacts of the BRI in different locations, including Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia and the MENA region. How are these regions navigating the opportunities and risks presented by the BRI and its alternatives, while also considering the broader implications for regional and global power dynamics?
The event will also be live streamed on NUPI's YouTube channel (no registration needed for online participation).
This seminar is co-organized by the Norwegian Centre for Geopolitics.
Participants
Wrenn Yennie Lindgren
Senior Research Fellow
Carla Freeman
Director of the Foreign Policy Institute, Johns Hopkins University
Deborah Welch Larson
Professor, University of California, Los Angeles
Nicola Nymalm
Lecturer in International Relations of East Asia, University of Edinburgh
Hidekazu Sakai
Professor, Kansai Gaidai University
Related projects
Research project
2020 - 2026 (Ongoing)
Roads to Power? The political effects of infrastructure projects in Asia (ROADS)
Does investing in infrastructure in another country generate increased political influence? ROADS seeks to answer this question by zooming in on China’s global infrastructure role and ...
18 May 2026
13:00 - 14:30 Europe/Oslo
Language: English
NUPI, Rosenkrantz' gate 22, OSLO
Seminar