11 juil 2016

The Belt and Road Initiative and Regional Economic Cooperation

A partir de 10:30 till 12:30
Room A3H1

European Parliament
Wiertzstraat 60
1047 BRUSSELS
Belgique

Seminar by the EU-China Research Centre at the College of Europe, Bruges. The event is hosted by Mr Jo LEINEN, Chair of the European Parliament's delegation for relations with the People's Republic of China.

Infrastructure connectivity is one of the five goals of the Belt and Road Initiative launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in late 2013. During this upcoming seminar organized by the EU-China Research Centre on 11 July 2016 at the European Parliament, we would like to examine the significance of the initiative for regional economic cooperation in China’s close neighbourhood and beyond. The Belt and Road Initiative could be a platform for economic cooperation between Asia, Central Asia and Europe. As the second largest economy, China has the potential to take greater responsibility for regional cooperation. According to an estimation by the Asian Development Bank, Asian countries would need US$ 750 billion annually for infrastructure development between 2010 and 2020. To fill the investment gap, China has launched the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) with more than 50 countries, as well as the Silk Road Fund, and participates in the New Development Bank (NDB) established by the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).

China has officially stated that it plans to explore possibilities for synergies between the Belt and Road Initiative with the Juncker Plan, as well as with the Eurasian Economic Union initiated by Russia and other regional initiatives. With this seminar, we would like to discuss the potential of the initiative for regional cooperation and joint infrastructure development, and in particular, its potential impact on the EU.

This seminar is open to the public, but registration is required before Wednesday 6 July 2016 at 00:00, midnight.

For more information, please contact: Ann Van Vooren

Programme:

10:30     Welcome and short introduction

Prof. Jing MEN, Chairholder of the Baillet Latour Chair of EU-China Relations and the EU-China Research Centre at the College of Europe in Bruges

10:35     Presentation: “The Belt & Road Initiative and Regional Economic Cooperation”

Prof. Xinya MAO, Associated Professor of Economics, The Belt and Road Research Center, China Executive Leadership Academy Pudong (CELAP) in Shanghai

11:00     Discussion

                Mr Frank GEERKENS, Antwerp Port Ambassador

                Mr David FOUQUET, Senior Analyst on EU-China relations

11:40     Q&A session

12:20     Closing remarks and end of the seminar

Background

The EU-China Research Centre, based in the Department of EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies at the College of Europe, is currently hosting Dr Xinya MAO as a Visiting Fellow. The topic of her research is “One Belt, One Road Initiatives and the Juncker Plan: How to Cooperate in Infrastructure Construction?”.

Dr Xinya MAO obtained her PhD in Economics from Fudan University (Shanghai) in 2006. Since then, Dr MAO has been working at the Department of Academics, China Executive Leadership Academy Pudong (CELAP) (Shanghai). She is currently an Associate Professor of Economics and Director of the One Belt One Road Initiative Research Centre at CELAP. She followed a joint postdoctoral programme of Renmin University (Peking) and CELAP between 2010 and 2012 and she was a visiting fellow at the Department of Economics, University of Sussex (UK), during 2012-2013, sponsored by the China Scholarship Fund.

In recent years, Dr MAO’s research activities have in particular covered regional economic development and urbanization in China. She is the author and editor of 2 books, and about 40 academic articles and book chapters. Dr MAO has received several grants from the China National Philosophy and Social Science Foundation, the Shanghai Municipal Government foundation, the Fudan University Creative Foundation and the CELAP Research Foundation.

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