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'
This presentation is part of the DPA seminar series
Research on China’s diplomacy and other activities in the Pacific has grown in recent years. What is less discussed is the rapid development of Pacific Studies and related activities in China. Based on the author’s original research, this seminar will discuss these developments and focus on the research-policy nexus.
In the 2018 Boe Declaration on Regional Security, Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders recognised that the Pacific Islands region is facing ‘an increasingly complex regional security environment dri