Publications
Books
China and international adjudication
China aims to become a “leader country” in international law that “guides” the international legal order. Delivering the first comprehensive analysis of case law and Chinese academic debates from 2002 to 2018, this book shows that gradually increased engagement with international adjudication is part of a broad effort to consolidate China’s economic and political gains, and regain great power status. It covers trade, investment, territorial and law of the sea matters – including the South China Sea disputes – and delineates a decades-long process between caution and ambition. Both in debate patterns and in actual engagement, this book finds remarkable similarities in all covered fields of law, merely the timetables differ.
China-Russia Relations in Central Asia
As China rises to global power status, its relations with other major powers, including Russia, are constantly renegotiated. Energy figures prominently in both countries’ foreign policy. An extensive analysis of Chinese language sources – academic debate 1997-2012 – confirms a collision of interests over Central Asian reserves. While unanimous appeals to compromise render previous predictions of impending confrontation unconvincing, descriptions of Sino-Central Asian energy relations as “central to energy security”, and the explicit rejection of a Russian “sphere of influence”, also exclude a retreat. In the long term, China will likely replace Russia as the dominant force in Central Asia’s energy sector, causing the Kremlin to perceive another “encroachment”. The current notion of a “strategic partnership” will inevitably be challenged.
Commissioned studies
‘EU-China energy investment opportunities and conditions’, July 2021, 40 pages [for the European Commission, DG ENER]
‘Greening the Belt and Road: Action points for Western-based foundations’, December 2019, 12 pages [for the MacArthur Foundation].
‘Making sense of China’s growing economic and political footprint in Noord-Brabant’, October 2019, 38 pages [for the Province of Noord-Brabant, Netherlands].
(Policy) Journal articles
‘Partner und Konkurrent – China etabliert sich in der internationalen Sicherheitspolitik’, Internationale Politik, January/February 2019
‘Belt, Road, and Sword’, Berlin Policy Journal, 3 January 2019.
‘China leans in on international adjudication - Why Beijing’s answer to defeat will be more forceful engagement’, European Journal of International Law (EJIL) Talk, 2 May 2018. [online publication, peer-reviewed]
‘Only Rocks and a Hard Place’, Berlin Policy Journal, 14 July 2016 (with Mikko Huotari)
‘Is China’s challenge to maritime law facilitated by Western neglect?’, Europe’s World, 20 June 2016 (with Hanns Maull).
‘Moscow’s Failed Pivot to China. And How it Benefits Europe’, Foreign Affairs, 17 April 2016 (with Mikko Huotari).
‘Sino-Russian Relations. The Impact of Central Asian Energy Resources’, 6 Vienna Journal of East Asian Studies 2014, 35-73. [academic, peer-reviewed]
Think tank studies and working papers
‘Networking the “Belt and Road” - The future is digital’, MERICS Belt and Road Tracker, August 2019 (with Jacob Mardell and Rebecca Arcesati).
‘Powering the Belt and Road – China supports its energy companies’ global expansion and prepares the ground for potential new supply chains’, MERICS Belt and Road Tracker, June 2019 (with Jacob Mardell).
‘Chinas Marsch nach Westen – Aufstieg in Zentralasien und Afghanistan’, Arbeitspapier Sicherheitspolitik, No. 13/2018, Bundesakademie für Sicherheitspolitik.
‘The BRI in Pakistan: China’s flagship economic corridor’, MERICS BRI Tracker, 18 September 2018.
‘Mapping the Belt and Road Initiative’, MERICS BRI Tracker, 7 June 2018.
‘Chinese Approaches to the Eastern Neighborhood’, in Popescu/Secrieru (eds.), Third Powers in Europe’s East, EUISS Chaillot Paper, No. 144, March 2018, pp. 13-20.
‘China’s emergence as a global security actor – strategies for Europe’, MERICS Paper on China, June 2017 (with Mikko Huotari et al).
‘China’s global law enforcement drive – the need for a European response’, MERICS Monitor, January 2017 (with Bertram Lang and Moritz Rudolf).
‘Can Turkey play the Shanghai card? China’s take on Ankara’s Eurasian security endeavors and what it means for Europe’s security architecture’, Arbeitspapier Sicherheitspolitik No. 6/2017, Bundesakademie für Sicherheitspolitik
Further short publications
‘China’s distinct path to engaging international courts. Not your ordinary BRIC’, IWM Post Summer 2021.
‘The BRI in Pakistan: Too big to fail’, MERICS Blog, 20 September 2018.
‘China’s New Foreign Policy Setup – How has Xi Jinping remade China’s foreign policy apparatus?’, The Diplomat, 1 August 2018.
‘Belt and Road reality check: How to assess China’s investment in Eastern Europe’, MERICS Blog, 10 July 2018.
‘The Pitfalls of Law Enforcement Cooperation With China’, The Diplomat, 21 January 2017 (with Bertram Lang).
‘How to Protect Europe’s Interests in the South China Sea’, The Diplomat, 12 July 2016 (with Jan Gaspers).
‘Will China Replace Europe as Russia’s Main Gas Customer’, 116 IWM Post Fall/Winter 2015, 10.
Conference papers
‘Sino-Russian Alignment and the Central Asia Factor’, Central Eurasian Studies Society – Annual Conference, Princeton, 11/2016.
‘From Isolation to Engagement - (Potential) PRC International Dispute Resolution Practice in Economic and Territorial Disputes’, Asian Society of International Law – Biennial Conference, Bangkok, 11/2015.
‘Chinese Academic Discourse on International Dispute Resolution and Sovereignty in Trade and Investment Disputes’, European China Law Studies Association – Annual Conference, Cologne, 10/2015.
Book chapters
‘Part One – The Legal Structures of Ombudsman and Similar Public Institutions in Asia – A Legal Comparative Analysis’, ‘China’ (and other chapters), in Kriebaum/Kucsko-Stadlmayer (eds.), Asian Ombudsman Institutions, Vienna: Verlag Österreich, 2016.
‘“Harmonious Arbitration”. ADR with Chinese Characteristics’, in Kaminski (ed.), Neues vom chinesischen Recht, Vienna: ÖGCF, 2014.