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Geopolitics
9 Readings on China’s Expansion you shouldn’t miss

8.1 Minutes
9 Readings on China’s Expansion you shouldn’t miss

China’s efforts to forge new economic and diplomatic alliances through its Belt and Road infrastructure initiative are well known. But Beijing is also extending its presence and power globally in quieter, smaller or surprising ways.

At every point of the compass, Beijing is laying the foundations of its new international order and shaping places and institutions outside its borders in its image.

We have compiled a collection of publications which are all available to download for free.

The Everything Everywhere Censorship of China

The Everything Everywhere Censorship of China

The Internet is facing its biggest crisis to date. A significant part of this is that state-related actors attempt to turn the Internet into a realm of tools for the surveillance of Internet users as well as societies. This publication analyses China’s model of Internet governance and the complex toolbox of digital suppression. Beijing utilized a sophisticated and evolving set of legal, technical, and operational apparatuses to perfect a near real-time censorship system across all platforms and channels to conduct propaganda and disinformation campaigns and collect massive amounts of data. The publication formulates the most important lessons learned from history so that democracies can find new ways or improve their strategy to preserve our liberal values and protect the rights of Internet users.

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The Rise of China?

The Rise of China?

What is at stake for the West if a democratic Taiwan ceased to exist? This paper argues that Western democracies, especially Europe and Germany, need to address this question urgently to properly position themselves in the global political arena. Calling China out on false narratives and maintaining a “free and open Taiwan Strait” are only two of further policy options to counter the growing and dangerous Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region and well beyond. Defending Taiwan is a litmus test for whether the “rules-based international order” can sustain and is therefore part of Western democracies’ national interests.

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How China is inverting Democracy enabling Institutions in Southern Africa

How China is inverting Democracy enabling Institutions in Southern Africa

As China's economic interests and political influence in Africa grew, so did its concerns about the long-term security of its investments have also increased. Changing governments - resulting in anti-China policies - and loss of influence are two important variables that China has to contend with. To secure its investments, China has recently invested time and resources in developing the domestic political institutions of African states, including political parties and parliaments. China is pursuing a two-pronged strategy of engagement in Southern Africa. A school has been established to train the next generation of leaders of former liberation movements who form the ruling parties in their countries. China also maintains active ad hoc cooperation with the ruling parties, especially in countries where there are regular political changes. This gives China the opportunity to assert its influence in strategic political institutions and secure direct access to influential political elites in African countries.

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China's Influence in Europe

China's Influence in Europe

This policy paper takes a look at the means that China uses to weaken the ability of individual states and thus the EU as a whole to act. At the same time, it evaluates various strategies used in dealing with economic or political coercion exerted by China. It is aimed at readers who follow China's multifaceted engagement from the perspective of academia. The selection of countries looks beyond Europe: the USA, Australia and Taiwan all have their own stories to tell with regard to influence from China. Policy recommendations provide suggestions on how the EU can behave in its greatest crisis.

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The Clash of Systems?

The Clash of Systems

Over the past fifteen years, China has positioned itself as a major partner and investor in Africa. In infrastructure projects and trade in raw materials, China has displaced Europe as the most important partner on the continent. This new competition is putting European trade, investment and development policies in Africa to the test.

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Vietnam's East Sea Strategy

Vietnam's East Sea Strategy

This paper focuses on current territorial disputes in the East Sea between Vietnam and other actors and Vietnam's East Sea Strategy to handle the disputes and to protect its national interests.

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The Discreet Power of China's Technical Standards

The Discreet Power of China's Technical Standards

Technical standards have become a central object of power-political competition for technology. China's growing influence on international technical standards is meeting with increasing concern in the West. Its influence, especially in strategic new technologies, is increasing significantly. In addition, China's standardization system is state-centric, unlike the private-driven approaches in the United States and Europe. This enables China to closely link politico-strategic goals with standardization.

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China's Digital Influence In Africa

China's Digital Influence In Africa

Zambia and Zimbabwe inherited a raft of surveillance laws from the colonial governments that once governed those two countries, which have continued to be used for conducting surveillance activities, ostensibly for national security but in reality for consolidating political power. China's relationship with the two countries, along with its own ambitions to do­minate the manufacture and supply of technologies globally, have created fertile ground for China to supply surveillance technologies to the southern African countries, which are comparatively cheaper than those from other parts of the world. Over the past decade, a number of media reports have chronicled the adoption and rollout of Chinese sourced tech­nologies in the telecommunications industries of these two countries, although these have tended not to examine how the different layers of Chinese technologies may be used by the Zambian and Zimbabwean governments to carry out tar­geted and mass surveillance.
The use of Chinese technologies for surveillance purposes does not take place in a vacuum and both countries use legis­lation that enables the often-unjustifiable use of surveillance.

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The Rise of the e-RMB: Domestic Control, Global Influence

The Rise of the e-RMB: Domestic Control, Global Influence

China’s new digital currency is being implemented in many parts of China, and will soon achieve nationwide distribution. This publication will introduce the latest developments regarding the implememtation of e-RMB, analyze its possible impact to the world, and provide policy recommendations.

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CHINA’S TECHNOLOGICAL INFLUENCE IN THE ANDES

CHINA’S TECHNOLOGICAL INFLUENCE IN THE ANDES

Chinese technological penetration capabilities offer a clear example of such versatility in the Andean region, a subregion of South America encompassing Venezu- ela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. China and its companies have managed to understand and adjust to the needs of the six national markets. Open markets and varying degrees of freedom are not obsta- cles to Chinese technological advances in the Andes. On the contrary, everything indicated they have managed to take better advantage of the international liberal order. This puts Beijing at a clear advantage over other powers, threatening further to reduce the influence of the West in that region.

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Subsea Infrastructure Western Indian Ocean

Subsea Infrastructure Western Indian Ocean

Connectivity and digitization are vital for Africa's growth. Undersea cables in the region are increasingly pivotal for the continent's development and international connections. Safeguarding this infrastructure is paramount for Africa's digital transformation and its global connectivity.

This analysis zeroes in on the undersea cables in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO), their relevance to Africa's development, and the need for protective measures. It aims to map and discuss the infrastructure off the East African coast, covering countries from South Africa to Eritrea and the smaller African island nations in the WIO. While addressing both energy and data cable infrastructure, the primary focus lies on undersea data cable networks. Three main themes are explored: providing background and an overview of the undersea cables, discussing undersea cable networks and country-specific peculiarities of WIO coastal African states, and presenting regulatory measures, focusing on selected East African countries and regions as cooperation platforms for protection.

Beyond vulnerabilities due to physical influences on undersea cable environments, the increasing spread of information technology opens avenues for foreign influence. Cable networks become contested terrain susceptible to geopolitical manipulation, exemplified by China's technological diplomacy with a surveillance emphasis. As the primary financier, China poses risks to vulnerabilities of African nations seeking connectivity and digitization as developmental drivers, particularly if manipulation becomes militarized. Securing and cooperating in expanding these networks are essential to safeguard and promote African as well as global interests. The WIO cables serve not only African but also significant interests in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere.

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