WG 1: Strategic sectors and infrastructure development
This working group focuses on Chinese investments and involvement in strategic sectors and infrastructure development across Europe, including both tangible (power plants, energy networks, renewables, construction or reconstruction of roads, highways, industrial infrastructure, railways and real estate) and non-tangible infrastructure (such as telecommunication, 5G and 5G-driven technologies, tourism, and agriculture). This is the investment field with the clearest (geo)political connotations.
Infrastructure development plays a key role in Chinese investments related to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): Chinese investments or involvement in railway construction in Eastern Europe (e.g. Budapest-Belgrade railway), in ports in Southern Europe (e.g. Piraeus, Greece) or in the UK (e.g. nuclear power stations such as Hinkley Point C) equally carry significant (geo)political importance. Moreover, this is also the field of investment that predominantly involves state-owned and/or national champion companies and thus has a partly distinctive set of governing values, motives, standards and norms.
WG1’s activities are organised into seven subgroups.
Leader: Ágnes Szunomár
Institute of World Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies (IWE CERS) and Corvinus University of Budapest (CUB)
Ágnes Szunomár, PhD is a Hungarian economist who extensively looks at China’s economic footprint in Europe. She is the head of Research Group on Development Economics at the Institute of World Economics, CERS, Hungary and assistant professor at Corvinus University of Budapest. She has more than 100 scientific publications, has led and participated in several international research projects. She is also a member of China Observers in Central and Eastern Europe (CHOICE) network. Her most recent works are: Emerging-market Multinational Enterprises in East Central Europe, Empty shell no more: China’s growing footprint in Central and Eastern Europe and Employee relations at Asian subsidiaries in Hungary: Do home or host country factors dominate?
Co-leader: Dr Niall Duggan
University College Cork
Dr Niall Duggan is a lecturer in the Department of Government and Politics at University College Cork, where he teaches international relations, International political economy, and Asian Politics. From 2013-2015 Dr Duggan was the Acting-Chair of Modern Chinese Society and Economy at Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (GAUG). Dr Duggan has also been a lecturer at the Institute of East Asian Politics, Ruhr Universität Bochum, and the Department of Chinese Studies NUI Maynooth. His main research focuses are emerging economies in global governance; international relations (IR) of the Global South; and China’s foreign and security policies, with a special focus on Sino-African and Sino-EU relations.
Recent Publications
Niall Duggan (2019) Competition and Compromise among Chinese Actors in Africa: A Bureaucratic Politics Study of Chinese Foreign Policy Actors. Basingstoke, United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan
Niall Duggan & Obert Hodzi (2020) ‘The challenges of China-European Union Security Cooperation in Africa’. Asia Europe Journal Vol 18 Issue 3
WG 1 subgroups
Members of WG 1 can choose to join one or several of the seven subgroups (SGs) that closer fits their research interests
SG 1: Corridor countries between Europe and China
Leader: Maryam Agharabi, China and Central Asia Studies Center
Co-leader: Niall Duggan, University College Cork
The rise of trade and transit corridors connecting China and Europe has reshaped global economic and political landscapes. From competitive ventures to strategic cooperation, corridors have become the new meeting grounds where China and Europe engage beyond their own borders. As Europe redefines its Strategic Autonomy amid shifting global dynamics, infrastructure investment, energy security, and geopolitical influence along these routes have taken center stage for policymakers, economists, and strategic analysts alike.
The Corridors sub-group brings together CHERN scholars to explore the intersections of infrastructure, trade, development, diplomacy and power projection along these conduits of global connectivity. Here we examine investments, competition, and cooperation, and analyze their short- and long-term implications for EU-China relations as well as for regional actors directly involved in these developments.
SG 2: Rivalries around Chinese infrastructure-building activities
Leader: Indrajit Roy, University of York
The growing importance of infrastructural corridors and the rise of the “infrastructural state” has led to understandable interest in rivalries, alignments and contingent collaborations between different powers. Seismic realignments in relations between the US, Russia and China are fundamentally transforming global politics. These transformations offer Europe the opportunity to strategically engage with China’s real and potential rivals such as India, Turkey and the Gulf States, and their respective infrastructural projects. The Rivalries SG brings together CHERN scholars to investigate the ways in which alternative corridors championed by emerging powers sometimes compete with and at other times align with China-led infrastructure corridors, and their implications for Europe. Here we examine geopolitical and geoeconomic rivalries (and contingent collaborations) from the perspective of emerging infrastructural states and the transnational territories through which their investments flow. As the contemporary Big Three seek to carve up the world into spheres of influence, the investigations by the Rivalries SG will help scholars, policy-makers and the wider public in Europe make sense of a world where prevailing models of unipolarity, bipolarity and multipolarity simply do not operate.
SG 3: Chinese involvement in (European) ports
Leader: Giles Mohan, Open University
The eastward shift in port ownership and management comes at a time when the US and Europe are rapidly rethinking the resilience of supply chains. Hence, ports provide an interesting lens to explore China’s global expansion. While ports share many features of all infrastructure, they are also unique in important ways. For many years ports were highly visible infrastructures lying in or close to major cities though as their scale has enlarged, they often lie beyond cities in exclusive ‘zones’ created around them. They also often function as spaces of exception where neoliberal security logics apply, are strategic as both symbolic and material instantiations of geopolitical power, and – critically – operate as key chokepoints in global trade.
Chinese state-owned enterprises, notably COSCO and China Merchants, and some private firms are seeking more investment in ports in Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Overly geopolitical analyses of China’s port expansion see it primarily in security terms as if directed centrally through an orchestrated strategy. By situating changes in port investment within an analysis of global capitalism, and empirically analyzing each Chinese investment in its own right, we get a more variegated picture with Chinese firms exploiting contextual windows of opportunity.
SG 4: Chinese presence in the European EV industry
Leader: Agnes Szunomar, Corvinus University of Budapest
EVs are politically determined as the winner of the future due to their potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on fossil fuels. Although the EU has imposed tariffs on Chinese EV companies, it is hard to imagine that its climate goals and the 2035 zero-emission targets could be reached without Chinese EV companies currently leading the industry. As a result, despite remaining tensions, Chinese companies are gaining a foothold in European markets to sell EVs and to supply local EV manufacturers with locally manufactured EV batteries.
The EV sub-group brings together CHERN scholars to examine Chinese EV companies activities in Europe, including the transforming global supply chains. Here we explore the multi-layered impacts of Chinese EV-related investments on local, national, and transnational levels.
SG 5: Regional sustainable energy development and mining industry
Leader: Tao Chen, University College Cork
Co-leader: Jiangtao Xie, University College Cork
Against the backdrop of accelerating climate change and geopolitical energy security concerns, the integration of renewable energy sources such as wind power, photovoltaics, and small-scale reactors into localized areas is essential for providing affordable, clean, and stable electricity supply. This transition is critical for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, dependence on fossil fuels and the effects of geopolitical conflicts on regional energy systems. However, challenges persist, including high initial costs, technical barriers in grid integration, and regulatory inconsistencies. On the other hand, given the lengthy transition period, small and medium-sized mining firms still play a crucial supplementary role in the transformation process. Despite their importance, small and medium-sized mining firms in the regional industry struggle to adopt sustainable and safe practices due to economic and technological constraints.
China-Europe cooperation in reginal sustainable energy and mining holds significant potential for advancing global sustainability goals.The Corridors sub-group brings together CHERN scholars to examine theoretical gaps, emerging trends, and policy recommendations in this evolving field. A key focus will be on China-Europe cooperation in technology, finance, and collaborative models, exploring areas of mutual learning and adaptation. Additionally, we consider the macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrop shaping these developments, including regulatory shifts, energy security concerns, and industrial transformation.
SG 6: China-Europe Sports Relations
Leader: Ilker Gündoğan, Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg
Co-leader: Jonathan Sullivan, University of Nottingham
This sub-group is an interdisciplinary academic network dedicated to examining the political, economic and cultural dimensions of sport interactions between China and Europe. The sub-group brings together scholars from a range of disciplines, including but not limited to political science, international relations, sport studies and economics, to explore how sport serves as a vehicle for diplomacy, economic exchange and geopolitical strategy.
SG 7: Robotic technologies & smart infrastructure
Leader: Yanze Liang, University of Nottingham Ningbo China
Co-leader: Constantin Holzer, University College Cork
Robotics has emerged as a key domain in China’s technological strategy, playing a critical role in the country’s broader push toward industrial modernization and global competitiveness. As China moves from being a major importer of industrial robots—largely from Europe—to an innovator in consumer-grade robotics and automation, the sector is shaping the future of manufacturing, infrastructure, and economic cooperation. From state-led initiatives under Made in China 2025 to market-driven advancements in artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled automation, robotics is at the heart of China’s efforts to upgrade its industrial base and enhance global supply chain resilience.
Beyond economic and technological considerations, robotics carries significant ethical, regulatory, and geopolitical implications. As Chinese and European firms collaborate in developing next-generation robotics, questions arise around intellectual property rights, data governance, labor market disruptions, and regulatory harmonization. Additionally, the application of robotics in infrastructure development, including smart cities and automated logistics, presents both opportunities for global cooperation and challenges related to security and strategic autonomy.
The Robotics sub-group brings together CHERN scholars to analyze China’s evolving role in the global robotics ecosystem. We examine China’s transition from importer to innovator, the role of European technology in this process, and the broader implications for industry, policy, and international relations. Our research explores technological advancements, market dynamics, and the ethical dimensions of robotics, providing insights into the shifting landscape of China-Europe cooperation in this critical field.
