Seminarserie om Kina og Norden

China's New Development Bank and Infrastructure-led Growth

In view of China’s recent launch of several new development banks (AIIB, OBOR, NDB) with a central focus on infrastructure, this NUPI Brief takes a look at how China’s infrastructure projects have fared both at home and abroad in the past. It asks the question: Does economic growth, boosted by infrastructure investment, necessarily benefit development? Admitting that infrastructure has played a crucial role in China’s development, as well as contributed to the changes in other developing countries, this brief cautions against several potential economic risks. To be more specific, three issues are highlighted: first, low usage and low profitability; second, debt and broken contracts; third, favouritism towards state-owned companies.

Ties that Bind: The Emerging Regional Security Complex in the Arctic

The security situation in the Arctic has begun to produce a 'regional security complex' (RSC) based on shared regional strategic concerns. However, the geography and politics of the region will prevent this RSC from taking on a military aspect in the near future.

China’s Political Priorities in the Nordic Countries: from technology to core interests

Chinese policymakers have identified a number of priorities that motivate them to observe and interact with the Nordic countries. While one can assume that the Nordic countries appear far from frequently on China’s foreign policy agenda, they have unique competences and are open to increased engagement with China. Moreover, they are perceived as being easy to deal with and have become important partners in Beijing’s effort to forge closer ties with governments across the globe. This Policy Brief is based on the author’s report, China’s political priorities in the Nordic countries, published by FOI in 2014. The report focuses on China’s political priorities in the five Nordic countries during 2007-2013. It is based on an analysis of official statements, academic papers and reports from think-tanks, as well as interviews conducted with Chinese diplomats and Nordic officials and scholars in the Nordic capitals during the autumn of 2013. The author draws the conclusion that China’s overarching Nordicwide priorities include four main areas: to utilise the Nordic region as a sounding board and door opener; to acquire technology and know-how; to promote China’s core interests; and to improve perceptions of China.

Dragon in the North: The Nordic Countries’ Relations with China

This report is temporarily embargoed due to a publication process. In this focus report we present to a Nordic public an overview of each Nordic country’s bilateral relations with China, and how each has handled the challenges and opportunities arising in relations with Beijing. Gathering a team of Nordic researchers, each writing on one Nordic country, this report also asks whether there is a common ‘Nordic dimension’ to the policies undertaken towards Beijing. The Nordic countries share a common geography and history, as well as a set of common traits based upon political traditions and cultural affinities. Yet, they also differ from one another in many respects, including foreign policy outlook and international institutional affiliations. To some extent this can also be traced in the Nordic countries’ current relations with Beijing. As the contributions presented here show, the five Sino Nordic relationships have followed markedly different trajectories.

Kampen om idemessigé forklaringer på japansk sikkerhetspolitikk: Kina i Japans identitetskonstruksjon

China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the New Eurasian Order

As Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has redirected the structures and the objectives of both foreign and domestic policy in the PRC. BRI’s goal is primarily economic: to increase trade and investment along China’s periphery by funding and building infrastructure projects. But it is more. Through an analysis of official and semiofficial sources, this policy brief will show that BRI aims to weave neighboring countries into a network of economic, political, cultural, and security relations centered around China. BRI is a new project that is still taking shape. Yet, its objectives are ambitious: Beijing’s grand strategy is to re-constitute the Eurasian regional order with new governance ideas, norms, and rules. The policy brief concludes that European countries should address China’s challenge by stressing their commitment to the normative goals of multilateralism, transparency, accountability, and the rule of law in an open, rule-based global order.

The South China Sea after "Philippines v. China": Summer of Our Discontent?

The July 2016 decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the case of the Philippines versus China on outstanding legal disputes in the South China Sea was a watershed in the ongoing dispute over the waterway’s status. Although the verdicts weighed heavily against China’s claim to historical waters in the SCS, the court’s decision will hardly be the last word on the subject, given Beijing’s rejection of the ruling and the growing importance of the waterway to both China as well as Southeast Asia and US policy in East Asia. In the wake of the decision, a cooling-off period would be ideal, but there are several variables which may or may not permit a reduction in tensions to take hold.