Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February recalibrated the attention of the transatlantic community toward Europe, while pushing the longer-term challenges posed by China to the backburner. Yet, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “pro-Russia” neutrality in the Ukraine conflict and joint efforts by Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin to weaken the liberal rules-based order have not gone unnoticed in European capitals and Washington DC. In addition, persistent concerns about Chinese human rights abuses, influence operations in Europe, unfair trade practices, economic coercion, and military pressure on Taiwan make it likely that China will remain high on the transatlantic agenda.
ACG and 1014 hosted another discussion as part of their virtual series Democracies Under Pressure: Challenges for the Global Liberal Order. Featuring Sinologists Dr. Kristin Shi-Kupfer, Professor for Sinology at the University of Trier and a Senior Associate Fellow at MERICS; and Yun Sun, Senior Fellow and Co-Director of the East Asia Program and Director of the China Program at the Stimson Center.
Dr. Kristin Shi-Kupfer is Professor for Sinology at the University of Trier and a Senior Associate Fellow at MERICS. She is an expert on China’s digital politics, media policy, civil society and human rights. From 2013 until September 2020, Kristin headed MERICS’ research area on Public Policy and Society. She previously worked as a research associate at the University of Freiburg’s Institute for Sinology. She earned her PhD from Ruhr University Bochum with a thesis on spiritual and religious groups in China after 1978. From 2007 to 2011 she was based in Beijing covering China for various German-speaking media like the Austrian magazine Profil, the German Protestant Press Agency epd or the public radio station Deutsche Welle.
Yun Sun is a Senior Fellow and Co-Director of the East Asia Program and Director of the China Program at the Stimson Center. Her expertise is in Chinese foreign policy, U.S.-China relations and China’s relations with neighboring countries and authoritarian regimes. From 2011 to early 2014, she was a Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution, jointly appointed by the Foreign Policy Program and the Global Development Program, where she focused on Chinese national security decision-making processes and China-Africa relations. From 2008 to 2011, Yun was the China Analyst for the International Crisis Group based in Beijing, specializing on China’s foreign policy towards conflict countries and the developing world. Prior to ICG, she worked on U.S.-Asia relations in Washington, DC for five years. Yun earned her master’s degree in international policy and practice from George Washington University, as well as an MA in Asia Pacific studies and a BA in international relations from Foreign Affairs College in Beijing.
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Democracies Under Pressure: Challenges for the Global Liberal Order