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.
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.
The much-awaited update to the Pacific Aid Map showed a sharp drop in China’s 2019 aid spend in the Pacific, despite the pressing development needs presented by COVID-19.
Tourism is a pillar industry in the Pacific, contributing 11.1 per cent of the region’s GDP, or US$3.8 billion, and creating 131,010 jobs in 2018 (South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) 2019:3).
On 5th August, Department of Pacific Affairs hosted a seminar by Dr Denghua Zhang called 'Research-Policy Nexus: New Developments about Pacific Studies in China'