The Beijing government exports not only products and services to the world, but also authoritarian, even totalitarian attitudes. And I think we cannot separate the challenges that directly affect us from those that are related to principles that we want to be affirmed worldwide.
This week is about China. Here in Washington, at the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) Summit, I met people concerned about respecting human rights who were equally informed and interested about, say, the situation of plagiarism and justice laws in Romania. Trust is built on common themes, and friends and supporters of human rights in China can be friends of strengthening democracy in Romania. Information is key: it is very important to know what happens in China, under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, and to react when we see human rights being violated, causing suffering to millions of people.
My fellow advisor, Andreea Leonte, a researcher on China-related issues, made an overview of relevant resources by Romanian authors. They are essential reading for anyone to understand the complicated geopolitical context in which we find ourselves. I invite you to patiently go through them all.
In the field of contemporary Romania-China relations, I confidently recommend the works written by Andreea Brînză from The Romanian Institute for the Study of the Asia-Pacific – RISAP and Monica Șincaias well as the Expert Forum (EFOR) reports from the China Watch section.
Focused on the dynamics of US-China relations Andrei Lungu, a researcher also at RISAP, in his articles both forays into the historical context and possible future scenarios.
Below, some links to articles published in various publications, as well as a favorite selection of articles:
Andreea Brînză
• RISAP (all articles)
• Report: China and Central Europe, success or failure?
• Foreign Policy (all articles)
• The Diplomat (all articles)
• How China lost the hearts and minds of Central and Eastern Europe (2020)
• South China Morning Post
• Beijing’s Media Influence Efforts in Romania (2022)
• Strategic competitors in search of China: The story of Romania and Bulgaria (2020)
• How Russia Helped The United States Fight Huawei in Central and Eastern Europe (2020)
Andrei Lungu
• Foreign Policy (all articles)
• Who Will Be China’s Next Premier? (2020)
• South China Morning Post (all articles)
• Taiwan invasion doesn’t hang in the military balance (2021)
• More strategy and less Washington in Sino-Indian relations (2021)
Monica Șincai
• A Romanian View on China’s Image in CEE from the Perspectives of 16+1 and OBOR (2020)
• Pros and Cons of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (2021)
Expert Forum – all of the China Watch
Some of my own writings:
• RISAP/Andreea Leonte (all articles)
• China’s narrative of Russia’s war against Ukraine (2022)
• Backing Russia on Ukraine: China’s Messaging in Central and Eastern Europe (2022)
• Huawei in Central and Eastern Europe: Trends and Forecast (2021)
• Empty shell no more: China’s growing footprint in Central and Eastern Europe (2020)
• China Is Burning Away Its Ecological Future (2019)
• China, the Belt & Road Initiative and waste management (2022)
Favorite readings:
• Chinese Health Care Needs More Communism (2020)
• China will no longer build reactors 3 and 4 at the Cernavodă nuclear power plant (2020)
• History of the China-US trade war (2020)
• How China can overtake the United States (2021)
• Chinese communities in Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine (2021)
• What Happened to the Belt and Road Initiative? (2022)
• Beijing’s Global Media Influence 2022 Romania – Resilient
Finally, I recommend everyone to support the development of non-governmental research centers on contemporary political challenges in Romania.
All developed countries have entire networks of think tanks , because they understand that the supporting centers of expertise in the private sector is essential in the ever-changing geopolitical context.
We cannot rely only on the knowledge and experience of our diplomats. The public must also be informed. ress reports are not sufficient to understand the complexity of the times we live in. We need real experts that are dedicated to studying pressing geopolitical issues. Unfortunately, there are all kinds of barriers to the development of Romanian think tanks, beyond the problems related to financing, but we will talk about that another time.
Română