China Observers

Prior to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the Indo-Pacific was one of the most prominent focuses pushed by politicians from Brussels to Berlin to Paris and beyond. After France , Germany and the Netherlands released their own strategies for the region between 2018 and 2020, the overall EU and Central European nations like Poland and the landlocked Czech Republic has vocalized their own aims. Fro...

While opaque statements from Chinese officials and abstentions at the UN have kept Moscow at arm's length amid the invasion of Ukraine, a joint statement by  Vladimir Putin and  Xi Jinping that proclaimed alignment on key issues like Taiwan and NATO still stokes caution among onlookers of the Sino-Russian relationship, especially within the CEE region. Further still, China...

On the sidelines of the Beijing Olympics, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met for the 38th time, issuing a joint statement that may well become a major milestone in bilateral ties. The lone CEE President in attendance upon this momentous occasion was Polish President Andrzej Duda, who know finds his nation dealing with an influx of refugees and a potential security c...

While purported to be an apolitical showcase of athletics, free from the troubles of the present geopolitical climate, the Beijing Olympics appear to be off to an inauspicious start even before the opening ceremony.  Leading up to the games, several countries including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, Belgium, and Denmark, as well as CEE nations like Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia have a...

Via the 16+1 platform, the Belt and Road, the Digital Silk Road, and more, there is no shortage of Chinese investment initiatives touching the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. This includes infrastructure projects dotting the Western Balkans, data centers in Hungary, and significant FDI directed at strategically important EU nations like Poland. Over their life span, these investments ha...

While it has faded from the popular discourse a bit in recent months, the turn of the year will quickly catapult Central and Eastern European nations to another meeting with the China via the recently downsized 16+1 mechanism.  The upcoming convening of nations is certainly due to attract attention as the withdrawal from the format by Lithuania and lower level representation via numerous stat...

Lithuania has certainly not been shy about bucking the status quo in terms of relations with Beijing. Whether it be committing to a fight for freedom “from Belarus to Taiwan”, a withdrawal from the 17+1 format, or a resolution on the Uyghur situation in China, the small Baltic nations has been eager to make its voice heard. As of late, this has been most vocally displayed in terms of tighter ties...

Hungary has had its share of issues as of late, ranging from its import of Chinese vaccines sans EMA approval, to blockage of EU statements on human rights abuses in China, to the politically problematic (and quite pricey) establishment of Fudan University's campus in Budapest. Indeed, for the very first time, China is shaping up to be a key political issue for the upcoming elections in 2022 for t...

Human rights are increasingly taking center stage in Sino-European relations, supplanting the economic impacts that had previously held primacy. Indeed, as quickly as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Chinese FDI, and the 17+1 platform ignited the hopes of the Central European region and its leaders, the human rights issue and revelations from the Xinjiang region have just as quickly soured publ...

As Serbia continues to pursue a multi-vector strategy that heavily relies upon China and China itself further highlights cooperation in the Balkans not only on vaccines, but in infrastructure investment along the Belt and Road, as it did in the most recent 17+1 summit, curious eyes are increasingly drawn to China's activities in the region. However, the cooperation across the broader Western Balka...

Janka Oertel and Kevin Curran Discuss the recent CAI, climate policy, the 17+1 keynote from Xi Jinping, and more.

Special Double Episode Featuring Janka Oertel and Isabel Hilton on China and climate policy.

The podcast is also available on Google Podcasts , Breaker , PocketCasts , and Soundcloud . As both the EU-China CAI 17+1 summit begin to fade from view and more challenges yet emerge for China and their relations with both the EU and CEE nations, the Voice for CHOICE  podcast is picking up on one of China's evermore present promises in such high-profile meetings and agreements in 2021, that...

As the 17+1 virtual summit approaches, Voice for CHOICE analyzes the role of the Baltic nations and their role in the EU-China dialogue, the role that remains for Russia in influencing the region's actions on this front, and the strong Transatlantic links that undergird the nation's security and often its policy stances. Of course, the region itself is home to diverse populations with varying stan...

Discussing European opinions of China in the age of COVID-19.

Filip Šebok, an analyst for the MapInfluenCE project, joins the podcast to discuss the burgeoning threat of dis and misinformation in Central and Eastern Europe, especially that related to the COVID-19 pandemic.  MapInfluenCE is a project that focuses on China’s influence across Czechia, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, with much of its internationally acclaimed research focused on media and und...

Czech analyst Ivana Karaskova comments on the fallout from Czech Senate President Milos Vystrčil's recent trip to Taiwan and what the development of Sino-Czech relations can tell us about the future of Sino-European ties.

Robert Daly, Director of the Wilson Center’s Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, joins the podcast to discuss the looming US election and its potential impact on US-China policy, as well as its effects in Europe