Europe’s post-2008 financial crises have provided opportunities for Chinese overseas investment in cash-strapped European states. From infrastructure investments in a high-speed rail line between Serbia and Hungary, to developing Greece’s port of Piraeus, becoming majority shareholders in France’s Toulouse airport, and developing business parks in Belarus, China’s continent-wide investments are altering economic and political realities across Europe. In the wake of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union (Brexit), how will Chinese investment continue to change realpolitik in the Old Continent?
The Harvard on China podcast talks with Phillipe Le Corre, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institute, former advisor at France’s Ministry of Defense, and former fellow at Harvard’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. Le Corre is the author of “China Offensive in Europe” from Brookings Institution Press.
The “Harvard on China” podcast is hosted by James Evans at Harvard’s Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies. Listen to more podcasts at the Fairbank Center’s SoundCloud page.