Please note: This is a hybrid event and will also be available on Zoom.

Speaker: Shaun Gessler, PhD Candidate, DPA

What does China’s increasing economic engagement in the Pacific mean for Pacific Island communities? Shaun Gessler’s anthropology thesis investigates the relationship between the Chinese majority-run Ramu Nickel Cobalt project – China’s largest investment in the Pacific to date – and the indigenous communities on whose land the project is located.

PLEASE NOTE: This event is a hybrid event and will take place both, in-person as well as online.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an ambitious Chinese program to influence global affairs through geoeconomics. Since its inception in 2013, it has become fundamental to understanding China’s grand strategy. Eight years later the BRI has over 145 member countries, many of whom seek infrastructure development. This pre-submission seminar by Pete Connolly examines changes in Chinese statecraft across Timor-Leste, PNG, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji, since the introduction of the BRI in 2018 and 2019.