As Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visits Europe this week, YCW’s Insa Ewert and Jan Philipp Pöter reflect on the cooling U.S.-EU relationship and see opportunity for China and the EU to take steps towards an ever-closer relationship.
YCW recently partnered with the Lau China Institute at King’s College London to launch an essay competition on the topic: “How will China change the world?” One of the runners-up, Matthew Phan, delivered a comprehensive analysis of China’s economic growth and its impact on current thinking about trajectories of development.
A piece by MERICS, a YCW Partner, reflects on the “America First” strategy as China strives to increase its role and influence on the world stage. This follows a panel hosted by MERICS, ChinaFile, Asia Society and YCW in New York this month on the consequences of this shift in the global order.
Announcing the winner of the inaugural Lau-YCW essay competition… Lauren Dickey! Lauren submitted an impassioned essay on China’s water security, tracing the growing water crisis from Mao Zedong’s post-1949 development projects to Zhongnanhai’s “sponge city” pilot program. She makes a compelling case for how China’s response to water scarcity will change the world, arguing, “China’s partners and friends can learn from Beijing’s mistakes. But it is the success stories that others will emulate.”
YCW’s Insa Ewert and Jan Philipp Pöter argue for a more proactive approach by European governments towards targeting Chinese investment in infrastructure. Read more about how Europe can bridge its current infrastructure gap here.